
Qass 
Book- 




BENJAMIN HAWKIN; 



1754-1816. 



A BRIEF HISTORY 

OF THE 

NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS 

ON THE 

CONTINENTAL ESTABLISHMENT 

IN THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION, 

WITH A REGISTER OF OFFICERS OF THE SAME. 

BY ^ 
CHARLES L. DAVIS, 

CAPTAIN TENTH INFANTRY, BREVET MAJOR U. S. ARMY, 

Member of Pennsylvania Historical Society ; Professor of Military Science, Bingham School, 

Asheville, North Carolina. 

ALSO 

A SKETCH 

OF THE 

NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY 



CINCINNATI 



FROM ITS ORGANIZATION IN 1783 TO ITS SO-CALLED 
DISSOLUTION AFTER 1790. 

BY ,■- 
/ 

HENRY HOBART BELLAS, LL.B., 

CAPTAIN U. S. ARMY, 

Member of Pennsylvania Historical Society ; Honorary Member of Delaware and 
New Hampshire Historical Societies, etc. 



PHILADELPHIA, PA. 

1896. 

A. 




Hf^^s 



C^hS^ 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

History of the North Carolina Troops of the Con- 
tinental Army 3 

Register of North Carolina Officers of the Conti- 
nental Army 34 

Preface to Sketch of the North Carolina Society 

of the Cincinnati 77 

Sketch of the North Carolina Society of the Cin- 
cinnati 79 



A HISTORY 

OF THB 

North Carolina Troops of the Continental Army, 

WITH 

A REGISTER OF OFFICERS OF THE SAME. 
By CHARLES L. DAVIS, 

CAPTAIN TBNTH INFANTRY, BRBVET MAJOR U. S. ARMY. 



Remonstrances and petitions being of no avail with the 
British Crown, the people of North Carolina, in defence of 
their rights and liberties, in common with the other colo- 
nies, early in 1774, had taken measures to resist the oppres- 
sions of their mother-country. William Hooper, writing 
April 26, 1774, to James Iredell, says, "With you I antici- 
pate the important share which the colonies must soon 
have in regulating the political balance. They are fast 
striding to independence, and will ere long build an empire 
on the ruins of Britain." Safety committees were formed 
in most of the counties, and, notwithstanding the opposition 
of the Royal Governor, Josiah Martin, a Provincial Congress 
met at New Bern, August 25, 1774, of which Colonel John 
Harvey was elected Moderator, and among its members 
were the eloquent and polished William Hooper and fiery 
John Ashe, both from New Hanover, and the proud and 
wealthy Samuel Johnston, with Joseph Hewes and Thomas 
Jones, of Chowan, and Robert Howe, of Brunswick (who 

3 



4 HISTORY OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS 

was afterwards to acquire great military fame), together 
with many other honorable and patriotic men. This Con- 
gress at once appointed delegates (William Hooper, Joseph 
Hewes, and Richard Caswell) to the Continental Congress, 
to meet at Philadelphia in the ensuing month of September, 
and, having passed resolutions expressive of the rights of 
the colonies, it adjourned November i, 1774. 

The first Continental Congress, meeting at Philadelphia 
on September 5, 1774, prepared an address to King George 
III., and passed a resolution to cease all commercial inter- 
course with Great Britain in case of his refusal to redress 
the grievances of the colonies. It adjourned October 26, 

1774, to meet again May 10, 1775. 

Upon the call of Colonel John Harvey, and, notwithstand- 
ing the strong opposition of the Royal Governor Martin, 
another Provincial Congress met at New Bern, April 3, 

1775, and, as an indication of the approaching struggle 
shown in the selection of delegates, they were, in almost 
every instance, those who were members of the House of 
Assembly under the Royal authority, and Colonel Harvey 
was elected the Moderator of one body and Speaker of the 
other ; both bodies sitting at the same time and place, at 
one time performing the functions of one and then of the 
other body. 

The House of Assembly was dissolved by Governor 
Martin on April 8, 1775, and stern John Harvey, as Speaker 
of that body, received the last address which the Royal 
Governor was to make to it, the last Royal Legislature that 
met in North Carolina. Without formal dissolution, it at 
once, with additional members, continued its functions as 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 5 

the Provincial Congress, and returned the same delegates to 
the Continental Congress to meet in Philadelphia in May, 
1775. Governor Martin called his Council together and 
denounced the acts of the Provincial Congress. For defence 
he caused a few guns to be placed before his palace at New 
Bern ; but, while he and his Council were in session, these 
guns were seized by a body of brave men, headed by Dr. 
Alexander Gaston and Richard Cogdell, on April 24, 1775, 
and carried away. The terrified Governor, with a few fol- 
lowers, fled at once to Wilmington, and thence, soon after- 
wards, to Fort Johnson, at the mouth of Cape Fear River, 
from which he was driven on July 15, 1775, by Colonels 
James Moore and John Ashe,* with a body of troops, to 

* Colonel John Ashe was born 1721. His father, John Baptista Ashe, the 
founder of the family, emigrated from England in the early part of 1727. He 
was a friend of Lord Craven, under whose patronage he came, with his family, 
to seek his fortune in the Western world. He was a gentleman of liberal 
education, accomplished manners, and superior intellect, and in 1730 was one 
of the Council of Governor George Burrington, of North Carolina. His two 
sons, John and Samuel, as well as their sons, were distinguished in the field 
of battle and councils of the State. Of this family there were in the Revolu- 
tionary War seven officers — Brigadier-General John Ashe, of the militia from 
the District of Wilmington, with his sons. Captains John and Samuel of the 
Continental Army (the latter of whom was a member of the North Carolina 
Society of the Cincinnati) ; Paymaster Samuel Ashe, Sr., with his sons, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel John Baptista Ashe and Lieutenant Samuel Ashe, Jr., of the 
Continentals and Captain Cincinnatus Ashe, of the Marines, the latter of 
whom was lost at sea. Lieutenant-Colonel J. B. Ashe was a member of the 
North Carolina Society of the Cincinnati, a member of the Continental Con- 
gress in 1787-8, and from 1790 to 1793 a member of the Congress under the 
Constitution. In 1795 he represented Halifax in the House of Commons of 
North Carolina, and was afterwards elected Governor of the State, but died 



6 HISTORY OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS 

take refuge on board the Royal warship Cruizer, whence he 
continued to fulminate proclamations forbidding the forming 
of a provincial council of delegates from the counties. 

In April, 1775, the British Parliament, in order to punish 
the colonies, had passed an act restraining the American 
colonies from trade and commerce with Great Britain and 
the West Indies, excepting in its provisions the colonies of 
New York, Georgia, and North Carolina. North Carolina, 
regarding this as an effort to seduce its people to desert the 
common cause, refused to accept this advantage, and con- 
tinued to adhere to the plans of the Continental Congress. 
The weight of this obnoxious law was falling only on the 
city of Boston, Massachusetts, which was held by General 
Gage in a state of siege. At length, on the 19th of April, 
1775, came the affair of Lexington and Concord, Massa- 
chusetts. News travelled slowly in those days, and it was 
not until May 19 that the intelligence of this bloodshed was 
received at the village of Charlotte, in Mecklenburg, North 
Carolina. The patriot sons of Mecklenburg County, com- 
posed of two representatives from each militia company, as 
delegates to a county committee, in session at Charlotte, 

November 27, 1802, before inauguration. His grandson, John Jefferson Ashe, 
is now a distinguished citizen of Tipton County, Tennessee. Of the de- 
scendants of Lieutenant Samuel Ashe, Jr., who was the last surviving officer 
of the North Carolina Continentals, there are many distinguished persons 
throughout the country. His eldest son, John Baptista Ashe, was a member 
of Congress from Tennessee and has a son, Captain Samuel S. Ashe, a distin- 
guished citizen of Houston, Texas. A grandson of Lieutenant Samuel Ashe^ 
Captain Samuel A. Ashe, is now a prominent lawyer and journalist of Raleigh, 
North Carolina. Lieutenant Samuel Ashe died in the latter part of 1835. 




SAMUEL ASHE, jR. 

1763-1835- 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 



received the news of this act of violence with horror, and, 
though far from the scene of bloodshed, they felt that the 
cause of New England was theirs too. 

The famous Meck- 
lenburg Declaration zL / y ^iT) zO 
of Independence was | /)^%^ ^ '^a^^^'^i^^^^^w'^ 
resolved the next V^ __^^^ ^^ 
day, May 20, 1 77 5, to 

the maintenance of which they solemnly pledged their lives 
fortunes, and most sacred honor. These resolutions were 
drafted by Dr. Ephraim Brevard, and signed as follows : 



Abraham Alexander, 

Chairman. 
Ephraim Brevard. 
Hezekiah J. Balch. 
James Harris. 
Waightstill Avery. 
Richard Barry. 
Neil Morrison. 
William Graham. 
David Reese. 
Hezekiah Alexander. 
John Phifer. 
Zacheus Wilson, Sr. 
John Ford. 



John McKnitt Alexander, 

Secretary. 
Matthew McClure. 
Ezra Alexander. 
John Flennikin. 
Richard Harris, Sr. 
Thomas Polk. 
Adam Alexander. 
Charles Alexander. 
William Kennon. 
Benjamin Patton. 
Henry Downs. 
Robert Irwin. 
John Queary. 



Copies of these resolutions were sent to the Provincial 
Congress and to the Continental Congress, but it is believed 
were never presented to the latter body, as the act was re- 
garded as premature, for the colonies were not yet con- 



8 HISTORY OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS 

vinced that reconciliation was impossible. The American 
colonies having been declared in Parliament to be in a state 
of actual rebellion, it was conceived, in connection with the 
Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, that all laws and 
commissions from Royal authority, so far as Mecklenburg 
County was concerned, were annulled by these resolutions, 
and the county committee in session at Charlotte provided 
for the exigency by a series of twenty resolutions, dated 
May 31, 1775, providing for the government and protection 
of their county. Thus the county of Mecklenburg, North 
Carolina, by these bold acts, was the first region to abso- 
lutely dissolve the bonds of allegiance which had so long 
connected them with the British Crown. 

The Continental Congress met, according to adjournment, 
in Philadelphia, May 10, 1775, and June 15, 1775, saw 
Washington appointed Commander-in-Chief of the American 
forces. A Provincial Congress was called to meet at Hills- 
boro, North Carolina, against the meeting of which Gov- 
ernor Martin, from the deck of the British war-vessel Cruizer, 
issued proclamations. They met, nevertheless, at Hillsboro, 
August 21, 1775, and elected Samuel Johnston, of Chowan, 
as President. The die was cast, and North Carolina was at 
last a self-governing commonwealth, with the people united 
in opposition to Great Britain, and they proceeded to arm 
for battle. 

Militia companies had been organized in some of the 
counties as early as 1774. Before March 10, 177S, a regi- 
ment had been organized in Brunswick and Hanover 
Counties under Colonel Robert Howe. Colonel John Ashe 
had given up a commission under the Royal Governor 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. g 

Martin and appeared in Wilmington early in 1775 with four 
or five hundred armed men. In Mecklenburg County the 
militia had been organized under authority of the resolutions 
of the County Committee of May 31, 1775. The regiment 
under Colonel Howe will hereafter appear as part of the 
troops organized for Continental service. 

The Congress at Hillsboro declared that North Carolina 
was bound by the acts of the Continental Congress, and 
would support its decrees to the extent of all its power, and 
it was resolved that North Carolina would pay a proper 
proportion of the burden incurred in support of a Continen- 
tal army. A Provincial Council, composed of twelve men, 
was created by this Congress, which was to execute the 
power of the colony, at the head of which was placed 
Cornelius Harnett, of New Hanover. Six battaHons of 
minute-men were authorized, the county militia were en- 
rolled and drilled, to be under the control of the Provincial 
Council, and, in addition to these, two regiments of Conti- 
nental troops were enlisted for the war, — the first under Colo- 
nel James Moore, and the second under Colonel Robert Howe. 

The Congress at Hillsboro adjourned September 10, 
1775, and in less than sixty days thereafter Colonel Howe, 
with his regiment of Continentals and a battalion of militia 
under Colonel Benjamin Wynns, was near Norfolk, Virginia, 
defending that State against Lord Dunmore. 

The appreciation of his services in Virginia is shown by 
the following resolution of the Virginia Convention in 
session at WilUamsburg, December 22, 1775 : 

" Resolved unanimously, That the thanks of this Convention are justly due 
to the brave officers, gentlemen volunteers and soldiers of North Carolina, as 



lO HISTORY OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS 

•well as our brethren of that province in general, for their prompt and generous 
aid in defence of our common rights against the enemies of America and of 
the British Constitution ; and that the President be desired to transmit a copy 
of this resolution to Colonel Howe." 

It will be seen from this that North Carolina was prob- 
ably the first to send troops beyond her borders for common 
defence against the oppressions of Great Britain. Nor was 
this all, for, about the same time that Colonel Howe moved 
towards Norfolk, an important expedition, composed of 
militia, was organized in Western North Carolina, under 
Colonels Griffith Rutherford, of Rowan, Thomas Polk, of 
Mecklenburg, and James Martin, of Guilford, to assist 
General Richardson and Colonel Thompson, commanding 
the South Carolina Whig forces, in suppression of a rising 
of certain royalists, called " Scovilites," at Ninety Six, in 
South Carolina. 

In the autumn of 1775, upon the suggestion of Governor 
Martin, a vigorous campaign against the colonies was at- 
tempted by Sir Henry Clinton. As to North Carolina, it 
was expected there would be a strong co-operation by the 
Scotch and " Regulators," royalists who were expected to 
assemble in the upper region of the Cape Fear Valley under 
a General Donald McDonald of His Majesty's forces. A 
short and brilliant campaign of a month, under Colonel 
James Moore, of the First North Carolina Continentals, 
assisted by the militia under Colonels Caswell and Lilling- 
ton and Captain J. B. Ashe, resulted in a battle at Moore's 
Creek, February 27, 1776, with a complete destruction of 
the forces under McDonald, and prevented the junction of 
Clinton with the Scotch and Regulators. The Provincial 



^^t^y^^^tTTTuu 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. II 

Council, then in session at New Bern, in recognition of the 
services of Colonel Moore in this short campaign, and of 
Colonel Howe in the colony of Virginia, passed the follow- 
ing resolutions, March 4, 1776: 

" Resolved, That the thanks of this Council be given to Colonel James Moore * 
and all the brave officers and soldiers of every denomination for their late 
very important services ren- 
dered their country in effect- 
ually suppressing the late 
daring and dangerous insur- 
rection of the Highlanders and Regulators, and that this Resolve be published 
in the North Carolina Gazette. 

" Resolved, That Colonel Robert Howe is justly entitled to the most honor- 
able testimony of the approbation of this Council for his important services 
while in the Colony of Virginia, rendered in the common cause of American 
liberty, and that the President transmit the warmest thanks of this Board, in 
the fullest and most honorable terms, to Colonel Howe and all the brave 
officers and soldiers imder his command for their spirited conduct, having 
acquitted themselves greatly to their honor and the good of their country." 

Colonels Robert Howe and James Moore were appointed 
Brigadier-Generals in the Continental Army, March i, 1776. 
Howe became a Major-General, October 20, 1777 ; served to 

* General James Moore was born in New Hanover, North Carolina, in 
1737, and died in Wilmington, North Carolina, January 15, 1777. He was 
the son of Captain Maurice Moore, of Charleston, South Carolina, and grand- 
son of Governor James Moore, of the latter colony, who subsequently became 
attorney-general, judge of the admiralty court, and Speaker of the South 
Carolina Assembly. Governor Moore was himself the son of Colonel James 
Moore, also Governor of South Carolina, 1719, and brother of Honorable 
John Moore, Esquire, one of the most prominent and aristocratic men of the 
province of Pennsylvania, and the head of the Moore family of that State, as 
well as of New York and Virginia. 



12 HISTORY OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS 

the close of the war ; was a member of the North Carolina 
Society of the Cincinnati, and died November 12, 1785. 
General Moore died January 15, 1777. 

On the 4th of April, 1776, the Provincial Congress again 
met at Halifax, and on April 12, 1776, unanimously passed 
a resolution empowering the North Carolina delegates in 
the Continental Congress to concur with the delegates of 
the other colonies in declaring independence ; and thus, with 
Sir Henry Clinton and his forces still floating in the waters 
on her coast, North Carolina was in advance of all the 
colonies in proclaiming to the world her determination to 
be free and independent of the British Crown. North 
Carolina, with just pride, bears this date, as well as that of 
the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence (May 20, 
1775), upon her State flag. 

On April 13, 1776, this Congress ordered four additional 
Continental regiments to be raised, the officers of which 
were appointed on the 15th and i6th, and "arranged to 
regiments" on the 17th. Three troops of Light Horse had 
also been ordered by the same Congress on April 9. 

By a letter from Joseph Hewes, delegate to the Continen- 
tal Congress, dated Philadelphia, May 16, 1776, to Samuel 
Johnston, President of the Provincial Congress, it appears 
that the six regiments were accepted by the Continental 
Congress, and the appointment of Colonel Nicholas Long to 
be Deputy Quartermaster-General was confirmed, but that 
the troops of Light Horse were not then accepted, though 
they appear to have been at a later period, for some of 
the officers deranged by the rearrangement of June i, 1778, 
were transferred to the Light Horse. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 13 

General Charles Lee, of Virginia, who had been appointed 
a Major-General as early as June 17, 1775, had been as- 
signed to the command of the Southern forces. On June 
I, 1776, the fleet of Sir Henry Clinton, to which there had 
been joined the command of Lord Cornwallis, left the 
mouth of Cape Fear River and sailed for Charleston, 
South Carolina. The first and second regiments, under 
command of General Moore, were hurried off to Charles- 
ton, where they arrived June 11. On June 28, the British 
fleet under Sir Peter Parker attacked Fort Moultrie on 
Sullivan's Island, the troops under Cornwallis attempting 
to land on the island. Colonel Thompson, with the South 
Carolina Rangers and a battalion of two hundred picked 
men of the First North Carolina Continentals, under Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Thomas Clark, handsomely repulsed this 
attempt to land. The gallantry of the North Carohna 
troops is attested in General Lee's letter to Hon. Edmund 
Pendleton, of Virginia, under date of June 29, 1776, wherein 
he says, — 

" I know not whicli corps I have the greatest reason to be pleased with, 
Muhlenburgh's Virginians or the North Carolina troops. They are both equally 
alert, zealous, and spirited." 

From a letter of Colonel Jethro Sumner, of the Third 
Regiment, to Lieutenant-Colonel Alston, dated Savannah, 
Georgia, September 3, 1776, it would appear that his regi- 
ment had also been sent South, and that it was not assem- 
bled at Wilmington in July and August, as were the other 
regiments. 

The resolution of independence of the colonies was in- 



14 HISTORY OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS 

troduced in the Continental Congress, June 7, 1776, and 
after debate it was passed on July 2, 1776. On July 4, 
1776, the formal Declaration of Independence of the thir- 
teen colonies was unanimously adopted by that body, and on 
August I, 1776, it was joyously proclaimed at Halifax 
amid military displays and a vast assemblage of people. 

On November 12, 1776, a Congress met at Halifax to 
form a State Constitution. System was brought out of 
chaos, and the executive functions were vested in a Gov- 
ernor and an Assembly consisting of two houses. Richard 
Caswell was elected Governor, and he assumed his duties 
December 23, 1776, upon the adjournment of the Congress. 

Upon the defeat of Sir Peter Parker and Lord Cornwallis 
at Sullivan's Island, June 28 and 29, 1776, the North Caro- 
lina troops soon found no enemy in their presence. In July 
and August, 1776, the regiments of the North Carolina 
Line were concentrated at Wilmington, excepting the Third, 
which probably did not arrive until some weeks later. 
They were drilled and rigidly disciplined in this camp until 
about the middle of November, when they were ordered 
North to re-enforce General Washington's army. On 
reaching Halifax they were halted for three weeks, and then 
countermarched to the vicinity of Charleston to meet the 
British, who were near St. Augustine, Florida, threatening 
Georgia and South Carolina. At a pause on this journey 
near the boundary of South Carolina many of them claimed 
their discharge, and several men deserted, among these being 
three free colored men. At the urgent request of the au- 
thorities of Georgia and South Carolina, these troops were 
retained for the defence of those States until March 15, 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 1 5 

1777, when they were again ordered to join General Wash- 
ington, who was retreating through New Jersey with great 
loss and in extreme danger. 

The route pursued by these troops was by Wilmington, 
Halifax, Richmond, Alexandria, and Georgetown, and, as 
the story of their victorious deeds in the South preceded 
them, their progress through Virginia and Maryland was 
an ovation. At Alexandria those who had not suffered with 
the small-pox were inoculated, with such success that not 
a man was lost from that disease thereafter. Some of these 
regiments reached Washington's camp at Middlebrook, 
New Jersey, about the last of June, 1777; the others 
joined near Philadelphia soon afterwards. All of them 
were placed in the command of Major-General William 
Alexander (Lord Stirling), and there appears to have been 
some cavalry and artillery from North Carolina with them. 
The cavalry, consisting of two troops of light horse, was 
returned to the service of the State, by an order of the 
Board of War, dated November 24, 1778. 

The Congress, assembled at Halifax, November 12, 1776, 
had, on November 26, 1776, ordered three additional regi- 
ments — Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth — to be raised for the 
Continental establishment; and, as other troops followed 
from North Carolina to re-enforce Washington's army dur- 
ing the remainder of the year 1777, all these regiments joined 
that army before the battle of Germantown, and accompa- 
nied Washington to his camp at Valley Forge. A tenth 
regiment was organized in April, 1777, and it appears to 
have joined Washington after his going into winter camp 
at Valley Forge. 



1 6 HISTORY OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS 

The arrival of these re-enforcements from the South en- 
abled Washington to resume the aggressive against the 
British commander, Sir William Howe, who had transferred 
his troops by water to the Head of Elk, Maryland, with 
the design of moving on Philadelphia. General Washing- 
ton met the forces of Howe, September 1 1, 1777, at Chadd's 
Ford, on the Brandywine, where he was compelled to fight 
a battle ; and, although Howe won a victory and gained pos- 
session of Philadelphia, the success at Brandywine fell to 
ashes in his hands, for in less than a year his troops were 
withdrawn from Philadelphia, the possession of which had 
cost the British the capture of Burgoyne at Saratoga. In 
the battle of Brandywine, the North Carolina troops found 
themselves under Stirling's command as part of the right 
wing and in the command of General Sullivan. It fell to 
their lot to oppose the flanking movement of Lord Corn- 
wallis, and that the retreat of Stirling's and Stephen's 
divisions was effected with steadiness and repeated returns 
to the offensive, notwithstanding the blunders of General 
Sullivan, is shown by the fact that they were able, in this 
disastrous affair, to bring off the field their artillery and 
baggage. 

It was, however, at Germantown, October 4, 1777, that 
the valor of the North Carolina troops was conspicuous. 
The enemy being weakened by detachments sent against 
the forts on the Delaware, General Washington seized the 
opportunity to fall upon him at that place, and was only 
prevented from complete success by a combination of un- 
fortunate circumstances. Colonel Francis Nash, of the 
First Regiment, had been promoted to Brigadier-General in 





1759-1834- 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 1 7 

the Continental Army, February 5, 1777, and he led the 
brigade of North Carolina troops in this battle. It formed 
part of the reserve under Major-General Stirling, and was 
thrown into the attack on the right, where its conduct 
gained the high encomiums of the Commander-in-Chief. 

Of this battle, which ended in a disastrous defeat of our 
forces. General Washington said, in a letter to the Conti- 
nental Congress, three days afterwards, as follows : 

" Our troops retreated when victory was declaring in our favor. The tumult, 
disorder, and even despair which, it is said, had taken place in the British 
army, were scarcely paralleled." 

And a British writer bestows the following compliment 
upon the American army in this affair : 

" In this action the Americans acted on the offensive, and, though repulsed 
with loss, showed themselves a formidable adversary, capable of charging with 
resolution and retreating with order. The hope, therefore, entertained from 
the effect of any fair action with them, as \sic\ decisive and likely to put a 
speedy termination to the war, was exceedingly abated." 

Of the North Carolina Continentals there fell on that day, 
killed on the field, Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Irwin, of the 
Fifth, and Captain Jacob Turner, of the Third Regiments ; 
mortally wounded. Colonel Edward Buncombe, of the Fifth, 
who was taken prisoner, and died in captivity at Philadel- 
phia shortly afterwards, and Brigadier-General Francis 
Nash, who died three days after the battle. Major William 
Polk, of the Ninth, was also badly wounded. A rehable 
account of the wounding of General Nash is as follows : 
While riding down the main street of Germantown, leading 
the North Carolina brigade into action, a round shot, fired 



1 8 HISTORY OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS 

by the British, struck and fractured his thigh, at the same 
time killing his horse. The fall of the animal threw its 
rider to the ground with considerable force. Retaining his 
presence of mind, General Nash, covering his shattered 
thigh with his hands, called to his men : " Never mind me. 
I have had a devil of a tumble ; rush on, my boys ; rush on 
the enemy; I'll be after you presently." Human nature 
could do no more. He was borne fainting from the field, 
faithfully cared for, and after three days of terrible suf- 
fering he died, and was buried with miHtary honors in the 
Mennonist graveyard at Kulpsville, Pennsylvania. 

Soon after the serious check at Germantown, General 
Washington took his army into winter quarters at Valley 
Forge (December 19, 1777), on the Schuylkill, about twenty 
miles above Philadelphia. At this distance of time, it is 
difficult to realize the privations and sufferings of Washing- 
ton's army in the hutted camp which he estabHshed at Val- 
ley Forge. They are dimly divulged in his order of March 
I, 1778, every line of which breathes patriotism: 

"Head-quarters, March i, 1778. 
"The Commander-in-Chief again takes occasion to return his wannest 
thanks to the virtuous officers and soldiers of the army for the fidelity mani- 
fested in all their conduct. Their fortitude, not only under the common hard- 
ships incidental to military life, but also under the additional sufferings to 
which the peculiar situation of these states has exposed them, clearly proves 
them worthy the invaluable privilege of contending for the rights of human 
nature, the freedom and independence of their country. The recent instance 
of uncomplaining patience, during the scarcity of provisions in camp, is a fresh 
proof that they possess the magnanimity of patriots. The few refractory indi- 
viduals who disgraced themselves by murmurs, it is to be hoped, have repented 
such unmanly behavior and resolved to emulate the noble example of their 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. I9 

associates upon every trial which the customary casualties of war may here- 
after throw in their way. Occasionally distress for want of provisions and other 
necessaries is a spectacle that frequently occurs in every army. There never 
was one which has, in general, been so plentifully supplied, in respect to the 
former, as ours. Surely, we, who are free citizens in arms engaged in a strug- 
gle for everything valuable in society and partaking in the glorious task of 
laying the foundation of an empire, should seem effeminate to shrink, under 
those accidents and rigors of war which mercenary hirelings, fighting in the 
cause of lawless ambition, rapine, and devastation, encounter with cheerfulness 
and alacrity. We should not be nearly equal ; we should be superior to them 
in every qualification that dignifies the man or the soldier in proportion as the 
motives from which we act and the final hopes that our toils are superior to 
theirs. Thank heaven ! our country abounds with provisions, and, with 
prudent management, we need not apprehend want for any length of time. 
Defects in the commissary department, contingencies of weather, and other 
temporary impediments have subjected, and may again subject, us to a deficiency 
for a few days. But, soldiers ! American soldiers ! should be above the 
meanness of repining at such trifling strokes of adversity; trifling, indeed, are 
they when compared with the transcendent prize which will undoubtedly 
crovsTi your patience and perseverance, — glory and freedom, peace and plenty, 
the admiration of the world, the love of your fellow-countrymen, and the 
gratitude of posterity will be your reward. Your General incessantly employs 
his thoughts on the means of relieving your distresses, supplying your wants, 
and bringing your labors to a speedy and prosperous issue. Our parent 
country, he hopes, will second his endeavors by the most vigorous execution, 
and he is convinced the faithful officers and soldiers associated with him in the 
great work of rescuing our country from bondage and misery will continue 
in the display of that patriotic zeal which is capable of smoothing every 
difficulty and vanquishing every obstacle." 

The regiments composing the North Carolina brigade at 
Valley Forge, being greatly reduced by the casualties of 
war, were, on June i, 1778, under a resolution of Congress 
of May 29, 1778, consolidated into four. The Tenth Regi- 
ment, then in camp with General Washington, appears to 



20 HISTORY OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS 

have retained its number, for a report of the camp equi- 
page of the Northern army, made by General Nathaniel 
Greene, Quartermaster-General, in June, 1778, gives the 
North Carolina brigade as composed of the First, Second, 
Third, and Tenth Regiments, under the command of Colo- 
nel Thomas Clark, the senior officer on duty with it, for 
Brigadier-General Lochlan Mcintosh, the former com- 
mander, had been ordered on other duty May 26, 1778. 
The subsequent history of the Tenth Regiment is obscure, 
for it will appear later on that it was not surrendered with 
the other North Carolina regiments at Charleston, May 12, 
1780. It seems to have disappeared to history, excepting 
in the records of the State, where appointments to it are 
shown, in each successive year, as late as 1782. 

After spending the winter in Philadelphia in gayeties and 
riotous living. General Howe had been superseded by Lieu- 
tenant- General CHnton, and on the 18th of June, 1778, the 
city was evacuated by the British, who crossed the Dela- 
ware below the city, and, encumbered by a huge baggage 
train, they hoped to reach New York safely. 

General Washington crossed the Delaware above Phila- 
delphia and overtook the enemy at Monmouth, New Jersey, 
June 28, 1778, where, notwithstanding the ill-timed retreat, 
disobedience, and treachery of General Charles Lee in the 
early part of the action. General Washington discomfited 
the British, although he did not prevent their retreat, with 
all their baggage, to New York. 

My studies lead me to think that the North Carolina 
brigade was in General Stirling's division, forming the left 
of the second line, which General Washington placed under 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 21 

General Lafayette, after the ignominious retreat of Lee ; but 
from a " Field Return of the Troops under the immediate 
command of His Excellency, Genl, Washington," dated 
June 28, 1778, it seems to appear that there were but two 
regiments in the North Carolina brigade on the day of that 
battle. These were, doubtless, the First and Second. 
Where were the Third and Tenth ? The North Carolina 
troops won high commendation for their conduct on this 
field of battle. The First and Second North Carolina Regi- 
ments took part in all the movements of Lafayette's division 
from Valley Forge to the Hudson River, and were located 
at Paramus, New Jersey, in March, 1779, the Third being 
then in Philadelphia undergoing inoculation. It appears 
that the First and Second were at West Point, New York, 
late in 1779, and were the last of the North Carolina Conti- 
nentals to join General Lincoln in Charleston in the winter 
of 1779-80. 

The sources of information in regard to the North Caro- 
lina Continentals during the period of which I write are 
very meagre, but it is hoped that the forthcoming State 
Records of North Carolina, compiled and edited by Hon. 
Walter Clark, in continuation of the series of Colonial 
Records, together with the publication of the records of the 
Revolutionary War, now in the War Department at Wash- 
ington, for which there is reason to believe that provision 
will soon be made, will tell the story of their sufferings, 
privations, and gallant conduct. 

The most brilliant feat of arms that occurred during the 
American Revolution was that performed at Stony Point, on 
the night of July 16, 1779, by a select body of troops under 



22 HISTORY OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS 

General Anthony Wayne, in which there were two com- 
panies of the Second North Carolina Continentals, led by 
the gallant Major Hardy Murfree.* Stony Point was a 
rocky promontory on the west bank of the Hudson, about 
one hundred and fifty feet high, the occupation of which by 
the enemy was a menace to West Point and Washington's 
communications with New England. The attack was made 
in two columns, the right under Colonel Christian Febiger, 
of Virginia, and the left under Colonel Richard Butler, of 
Pennsylvania, with which went Major Murfree's battalion of 
two companies. They were to advance with absolute silence 
and unloaded muskets, relying only on the bayonet. When 
the left column reached a certain point. Major Murfree's bat- 
talion was to open a furious fire on the front of the works, 

* Major Hardy Murfree was bom in Hartford County, North Carolina, June 
5, 1752, and was the son of William Murfree, a member from that county in 
the North Carolina Congress that convened at Halifax, November, 1776, and 
framed the Constitution that, without amendment, continued to be the organic 
law of the State from 1776 to 1835. The son entered the army at the age of 
twenty-three and served throughout the war. His brilliant service at the cap- 
ture of Stony Point is well known. The sword he wore on this occasion is 
now in the possession of the Tennessee Historical Society, and his descendants 
retain the blood-stained sash he used in helping to bear General Nash from 
the battle-field of Germantown. After the war, Major Murfree resided on his 
plantation on the banks of the Meherrin River, near Murfreesboro', North 
Carolina, In 1807 he emigrated to Tennessee and settled on Murfree's Fork 
of West Harpeth, in Williamson County. He died in Williamson County, 
Tennessee, July 6, 1809. The town of Murfreesboro' was named in his honor. 
His letters show he was well educated and intelligent. His descendants still 
reside in the State, one — Mary Noailles Murfree, his great-granddaughter — 
being quite celebrated as an authoress to-day, under the pen-name of Charles 
Egbert Craddock. 




^^^;^^^2y(^^ 



/>>c<JC^ 



I748-I804. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 23 

in order to draw attention from the flanking columns. The 
right and left columns were to capture the outposts and, 
attacking the defenders, force their way over and around the 
abattis and enter the fort by the sally-port. The watch- 
word, to be given in a shout as they entered the works, was 
" The fort is ours !" 

The columns formed at the foot of the hill, each preceded 
by one hundred and fifty determined men, twenty of whom 
were placed in advance as " forlorn hopes," led by two 
young Pennsylvania lieutenants. The advance guard fol- 
lowed the forlorn hopes. The one on the left was led by 
Major Stewart, of Maryland; that on the right by Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Fleury, of the Engineers, where General 
Wayne, in person, directed the column. Major Murfree, 
being in the centre, between these columns, advanced up the 
slope. The right column was somewhat delayed by wading 
through water. Meantime Major Murfree began, as a feint, 
a tremendous firing of musketry. The forlorn hope of each 
column rushed forward to its duty, and the columns fol- 
lowed closely, amid a shower of grape-shot and musketry. 
The right column first entered the fort, led by Colonel 
Fleury, General Wayne being wounded in the head. So 
accurately had the movements been timed and the plans 
and orders been carried out, that both columns, as well as 
Major Murfree's two companies, reached the interior of the 
fort almost simultaneously. Among the casualties at Stony 
Point were Lieutenant William Hilton killed and Lieutenant 
John Daves wounded, both of Major Murfree's battahon. 

General Wayne's laconic despatch, announcing his suc- 
cess, was as follows : 



24 HISTORY OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS 

"Stony Point, i6 July, 2 a.m. 
"Dear Gen'l, 

" The fort and garrison with Col, Johnston are ours. Our officers and men 

behaved like men who are determined to be free. 

•' Yours most sincerely, 

" Anth'y Wayne. 
" Genl. Washington." 

In a supplemental report to Congress on this assault. 
General Wayne writes as follows : 

"West Point, August loth, 1779. 
"Sir: 

"Your very polite favor of the 17th ult., with the extract of an act of Con- 
gress, I have just received. The honorable manner in which that respectable 
Body have been pleased to express their approbation of my conduct in the en- 
terprise on Stony Point must be very flattering to a young soldier ; but, whilst 
I experience every sensation arising from a consciousness of having used my 
best endeavors to carry the orders of my General into execution, I feel very 
much hurt that I did not in my letter of the 17th of July mention (among 
other brave and worthy officers) the names of Lieut. Col. Sherman, Majors 
Hull, MuRFREE, and Posey, whose good conduct and intrepidity justly entitled 
them to that attention. Permit me therefore, thro' your Excellency, to do 
them that justice now which the state of my wound diverted me from in the 
first instance. 
" I am, 

"With every sentiment of esteem, 

" Your Excellency's most obedient humble servant, 

"Anth'y Wayne. 
" His Excellency John Jay Esq., 

" President of Congress." 

The officers of the North CaroHna Continentals who 

were deranged by the arrangement of June i, 1778, were 

returned to their State, to be assigned to other regiments 

^'\_ authorized to be levied there. Some were transferred to 

(..^^^^State troops, and such as could not be retained were honor- 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 2$ 

ably discharged. That many of them continued in service 
is shown by the fact that, among the casualties, in General 
Jethro Sumner's brigade at Stone Ferry, June 20, 1779, we 
find, mortally wounded, Captain James Campbell, formerly 
of the Second Regiment, and Ensign William Charlton ; 
wounded, Colonel James Armstrong, formerly of the Eighth 
(commanding at the time North Carolina Rangers), Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Archibald Lytle, formerly of the Sixth, Major 
Henry Dixon, formerly of the Third, and Captain Joseph T. 
Rhodes, formerly of the Tenth, 

In the last days of 1778 the tide of war turned south- 
ward. The plan of the enemy was to subdue Georgia and, 
sweeping through the Carolinas, to form a junction in Vir- 
ginia or Maryland with the troops from the northward, thus 
carrying out the so-called " plan" of the treacherous Charles 
Lee. On December 29, 1778, Savannah was captured, and 
Sir Henry Clinton was on his way by water from New 
York to Charleston with re-enforcements destined to the 
investment and capture of that place. To General Ben- 
jamin Lincoln had been assigned the defence of Charleston, 
and, in November, 1779, General Washington sent the North 
Carolina Continentals to re-enforce him. They were under 
the command of Brigadier-General James Hogun, who, as 
also Jethro Sumner, had been promoted January 9, 1779; 
Hogun's promotion being based on his distinguished intre- 
pidity at Germantown. As the North Carolina Conti- 
nentals passed through Philadelphia from their canton- 
ments on the Hudson, this gallant brigade numbered only 
about seven hundred men. It was a terrible winter jour- 
ney for them. The troops suffered greatly, and did not 



26 HISTORY OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS 

reach Charleston until March 13, 1780. In writing to 
Lafayette, Washington said of this event as follows,— 

"The extreme cold, the deep snows and other impediments, retarded the 
march of the North Carolina brigade. The oldest people now living do not 
remember so hard a winter. The severity of the frost exceeded anythmg of 
the kind that had ever been experienced in this climate." 

Clinton effected a landing on the islands south of Charles- 
ton, and, crossing the Stone and Ashley Rivers in the latter 
part of March. 1780, proceeded to lay siege to the city 
from the land side. The first parallel was completed April 
9, and a surrender demanded the next day, which was 
promptly refused. A bombardment was commenced and 
kept up almost incessantly until May 9, when a second 
demand for surrender met with a second refusal A tre- 
mendous cannonade ensued, which ended only when a 
capitulation took place, May 12, 1780. 

The defence of Charleston was undertaken for political 
rather than military reasons, for it was deemed that the 
effect of the evacuation of that principal Southern city 
would prove disastrous to the American cause. Never- 
theless, General Lincoln did intend to evacuate, but the 
tardy plans of General Clinton changed his views, for he 
had been promised large re-enforcements, one-half to be 
regulars. He also hoped for re-enforcements from the 
Spanish West Indies. 

With the surrender of Charleston the whole of the North 
Carolina Continentals became prisoners of war excepting 
some few officers and men who were then absent from their 
commands. North Carolina lost fifty-nine officers, belong- 




^^y^ ;€'^^c^J^ 



I756-I820. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARM.Y. 27 

ing to the First, Second, and Third Regiments and a bat- 
tery of artillery, nearly all her regulars, and a thousand 
disciplined militia. At a time when the country could 
illy spare any of her defenders, the veteran soldiers of the 
Carolinas, penned in British prison-ships, were perishing of 
disease and despair; among the victims being the com- 
mander of the North Carolina brigade, General James 
Hogun, who refused a parole that would separate him from 
his comrades in misfortune and died January 4, 178 1, in 
captivity. 

That some of the North Carolina Continentals escaped 
the disaster at Charleston seems to appear from the names 
of killed and wounded at Ramsour's Mills, June 20, 1780. 

Captains Dobson and Joshua Bowman were killed 

and Captain William Armstrong (all of the First) was 
wounded, while at King's Mountain, October 7, 1780, Cap- 
tain James WilHams was killed and Captain Micajah Lewis 
(both of the Fourth) wounded. 

Although a small force of Maryland, Virginia, and 
Delaware Continentals remained to defend the Carolinas, 
these States now largely depended on their militia for pro- 
tection. The battles of King's Mountain, Cowpens, and 
Eutaw Springs tell of their valor under skilful leaders. 

Soon after the surrender of General Lincoln at Charles- 
ton, General Washington sent General Horatio Gates to 
command the Southern department. He assumed com- 
mand July 25, 1780. The battle of Camden, fought Au- 
gust 16, 1780, was a disaster, due to his over-confidence, 
failure to use his cavalry for exploring, and the bad conduct 
of the militia, but the latter soon retrieved their reputa- 



28 HISTORY OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS 

tion at King's Mountain. Major-General Nathaniel Greene 
shortly afterwards (December 3, 1780) followed Gates in 
command of the South, and the battle of Cowpens, January 
17, 1 78 1, illustrated the valor of militia well led. Guilford 
followed March 15, 1781, and gave a turning-point to the 
career of Lord Cornwallis, which terminated with his sur- 
render at Yorktown, October 19, 178 1. 

Shortly after the battle of Guilford, General Greene gave 
his attention to the re-establishment of the North Carolina 
Line. There were in the State a few hundred men that had 
been left behind or had escaped capture at Charleston, and 
there were also the supernumerary officers who had lost 
their commands at the reorganization of June i, 1778. 
General Jethro Sumner was placed in charge of this matter. 
In August, 1780, he had been called to the command of 
the militia at Charlotte, but had withdrawn therefrom when 
superseded by General Smallwood, and he then renewed 
his exertions to reorganize his brigade, appealing to the 
patriotism of the people and exhausting every effort to 
obtain arms, which he finally obtained from Virginia. The 
Legislature of North Carolina met at Halifax, January 18, 
1 78 1, and, complying with the resolves of the Continental 
Congress, reduced the number of regiments of the Conti- 
nentals, required to be furnished by the State, from six to 
four. Impressment by a draft became necessary, and an act 
was passed punishing refusal to perform mihtary duty as 
follows : 

" Those persons who have been lawfully drafted and have neglected or 
refused to march and go into actual service on due notice, or find a substitute, 
as is therein directed, shall be held and deemed a Continental soldier for 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 29 

twelve months ; and that those persons who have deserted their colors when 
in actual service, shall be held and deemed a Continental soldier during the 
war." 

General Sumner met the officers then in the State who 
could convene, at Halifax January 23, 1781, to make an 
arrangement of the Continental line, but, finding a difficulty 
in procuring the dates of commissions of those in captivity 
whose release was soon expected, a temporary arrangement 
was made. 

By a general exchange of prisoners, agreed upon in 
April, 1 78 1, between General Greene and Lord Cornwallis, 
many veterans who had been inactive since the fall of 
Charleston were released. By the arrangement made at 
Halifax, Colonel John B. Ashe, Major Hardy Murfree, 
Major Henry Dixon, and John Armstrong were to com- 
mand the four regiments. Major Pinketham Eaton was at 
this time with Colonel Lee's Legion in command of a bat- 
talion formed from the militia who had fled from the battle 
of Guilford to their homes, but he was yearning to be of 
General Sumner's command. He fell gallantly, at the head 
of his battalion, in the moment of victory, beloved by all 
that knew him, in the attack on Fort Grierson, one of the 
defences of Augusta, Georgia, on June 5, 1781. Ninety of 
his men were subsequently absorbed in the Continentals of 
General Sumner's brigade. 

Honorable David Schenk says of the men under Major 
Eaton as follows : 

" The splendid courage and dash of the command of Eaton, composed, as 
it was, entirely of militia [note by the writer: soon to be absorbed in the Con- 
tinentals] who had fled to their homes from Guilford Court-House, cannot 



30 HISTORY OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS 

be too lavishly extolled. Native courage was common to them all, but they 
needed discipline, drill, and experience to make them soldiers. It gives me 
the greatest pleasure to trace the history and march of these patriotic men 
direct from Guilford Court-House to this bloody baptism of fire at Augusta, 
and this pleasure will be heightened by the continued observance of their 
subsequent glorious achievement at Eutaw Springs." 

It is of interest to note here that Captains James Read 
and Edward Yarborough, and Lieutenant John Campbell, 
of the Continentals, were in the command of Major Eaton, 
and continued in the service upon the reorganization 
effected under General Sumner. 

The First Regiment, under Colonel John B. Ashe, ab- 
sorbed ninety of Major Eaton's command, being all that 
Major Armstrong could find of them, for they seem to have 
been scattered in several detachments. He also absorbed 
the command of Major Armstrong, who had been wounded 
in a duel with Major Lewis and was temporarily disabled. 

From the 6th of April to the ist of August, 1781, North 
Carolina had sent forward one thousand men to serve as 
Continentals. Many of them, however, were forced Tories 
who deserted on receipt of the bounty, the number being 
reduced, through this cause and by disease, to about eight 
hundred men, whom we find, in August, 1781, under Colonel 
John B. Ashe, Major John Armstrong, and Major Reading 
Blount, as part of General Sumner's brigade of regulars 
and militia, in General Greene's camp, at the High Hills of 
the Santee, receiving military training for the battle of 
Eutaw Springs. 

General Greene now felt strong enough to meet the 
enemy in battle. He broke camp at the High Hills of the 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 3 1 

Santee, August 23, 1781, and marched towards the enemy 
at Eutaw Springs, then under the command of Colonel 
Stewart. The approach of General Greene was unknown 
to the British, who were posted in an admirable position, 
which it was not thought the Americans would attempt to 
attack. Greene's advance guard surprised and captured a 
foraging party gathering sweet potatoes. His order of bat- 
tle was the same as at Guilford, — the militia in the first and 
the Continentals in the second line, on the right of which 
was Sumner's brigade. In no battle of the war did the 
militia perform more brilliant service. They seemed anxious 
to make amends for all former failures and show that all 
they had needed were drill and discipline. Many of them 
were those who had abandoned the field at Guilford, but at 
Eutaw they behaved with such gallantry that nearly two- 
thirds in action were killed or wounded. When, however, 
they were forced to retreat, Sumner's brigade was brought 
forward to their support. Sumner's men came up gallantly 
and, overpowered by numbers, the British line sullenly 
retreated. As they fell back in sight of the North Carolina 
Continentals, General Sumner gave the commond, " Forward, 
my men, and give them the bayonet !" and the battalions of 
Ashe, Armstrong, and Blount were pushed forward so 
promptly that the line was restored and the British left com- 
pelled to retreat. It was then that General Greene gave the 
order to the Maryland Continentals : " Let Williams advance 
and sweep the field with his bayonets." General Greene 
reported of Sumner's brigade in this action as follows : 
" The North CaroHna brigade under Sumner, though not 
above three months raised, behaved nobly. I am at a loss 



32 HISTORY OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS 

which most to admire, the gallantry of the officers or the 
good conduct of the men." And again he says of all his 
troops : " I cannot forbear praising the conduct and courage 
of all my troops. Never did men or officers offer their 
blood more willingly in the service of their country." 

By the gallantry of Major Majoribanks, a brave and skil- 
ful British officer, the tide of American victory was checked. 
Each side could claim the victory, but the fruits of it fell to 
the Americans, for the British, after destroying their stores 
and a thousand muskets, abandoned many wounded and 
retreated to their sea-coast defences. The British power in 
South Carolina was completely prostrated by this battle, 
for, independent of losses incurred, the enemy lost the 
charm of imputed invincibility in the field. The Americans 
had learned dependence upon the bayonet, to the full use of 
which General Greene attributed this victory. 

The battle of Eutaw, the crowning exploit of the North 
Carolina Continentals, is a fitting period to approach the 
conclusion of this imperfect sketch, for on that field more 
than half the dead and wounded were North Carolinians. 

By the 15th of October, 1781, Greene's camp was re- 
established at the High Hills of the Santee, Generals 
Pickens, Marion, and Hampton resuming their partisan 
operations. On the 9th of November, 178 1, the news of 
CornwalHs's surrender at Yorktown reached General 
Greene's camp. That camp was abandoned November 18, 
and numerous minor operations concluded the Southern 
Campaign of 178 1. By an order of General Sumner, dated 
Camp, Southern Army, Pompon, South Carolina, February 
6, 1782, a Board of officers, of the North Carolina Hne, was 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 33 

convened " to regiment the officers of said line." It pro- 
vided for four regiments, and included, in the re-organiza- 
tion, some officers who were prisoners of war in captivity or 
on parole and not yet exchanged. Official reports show 
that, on April 7, 1782, General Sumner's brigade then con- 
tained one thousand one hundred and fifty-four men, and 
that the terms of service of one thousand of them would 
expire by January i, 1783. Upon the reduction of the 
army, January i, 1783, only one regiment was retained, and 
many of the officers were retired from service ; some were 
furloughed "on waiting orders;" but it was not until the 
latter part of 1783 that all of the North Carolinians were 
retired and relieved from further service. 



To Major Graham Daves, of New Bern, North Carolina, 
I am under great obligation for most valuable assistance in 
the compilation of this brief history. 



34 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 



REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 



CONTINENTAL ARMY 



1776 to 1783. 



Compiled by BREVET MAJOR CHAS. L. DAVIS, U. S. A. 



[Note. — Those in italics continued to the close of the war or were deranged 
by Acts of Congress. Those in small capitals were members of the North 
Carolina Society of the Cincinnati.] 

MAJOR-GENERAL. 

Howe, Robert, Colonel, Second, September i, 1775 ; 
Brigadier-General, Continental Army, March i, 1776 ; Major- 
General, October 20, 1777; died November 12, 1785. 

brigadier-generals. 

Hogun, James (also spelled Hogan), Major, Georgia 
Militia, May, 1776; Colonel, Seventh North Carolina, No- 
vember 26, 1776; Brigadier-General, Continental Army, 
January 9, 1779; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1 780; 
died January 4, 1 781, in captivity. 

Moore, James, Colonel, First, September i, 1775 ; Briga- 
dier-General, Continental Army, March i, 1776; died Jan- 
uary 15, 1777. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 35 

Nash, Francis, Lieutenant-Colonel, First, September i, 
1775; Colonel, April 10, 1776; Brigadier-General, Conti- 
nental Army, February 5, 1777; died October 7, 1777, of 
wounds received October 4, i j'j'j, at Germantown. 

Sumner, Jethro, Colonel, Third, April 15, 1776; Briga- 
dier-General, Continental Army, January 9, 1779; died 
March, 1785. 

COLONELS. 

Armstrong, James, Captain, Second, September i, 1775; 
Colonel, Eighth, November 26, 1776, to June i, 1778; 
Colonel, North Carolina Rangers ; wounded at Stone Ferry, 
June 20, 1779. 

Buncombe, Edward, Colonel, Fifth, April 15, 1776; died 
in captivity at Philadelphia of wounds received October 4, 
1777, at Germantown. 

Clark, Thomas, Major, First, September i, 1775; Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel, April 10, 1776; Colonel, February 5, 1777; 
prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; retired January i, 
1783; Brevet Brigadier-General, September, 1783; died 
December 25, 1792. 

Craick, Thomas, Deputy Commissary- General, November 
23, 1776. 

Hawkins, Benjamin, of General Washington's staff; died 
June 6, 1 8 16. 

Hawkins, Joseph, died 1785. 

Lamb, Gideon, Major, Sixth, April 15, 1776; Lieutenant- 
Colonel, May, 1776; Colonel, January 26, 1777. 

Lillington, Alexander, Colonel, Sixth, April 15, 1776; 
resigned May, 1776; Brigadier-General of Militia, 1776 to 
1782; died 1786. 



36 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

Long, Nicholas, Deputy Quartermaster-General, May, 
1776. 

Martin, Alexander, Lieutenant-Colonel, Second, Septem- 
ber I, 1775; Colonel, April 10, 1776; resigned November 
22, 1777; died November 12, 1807. 

Patton, John, Major, Second, September i, 1775; Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel, April 10, 1776; Colonel, November 22, 
1777; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; retired January 

I, 1783- 

Polk, Thomas, Colonel of Minute-Men, December 21, 

1775; Colonel, Fourth, April 15, 1776; resigned June 26, 

1778; died 1793. 

Rochester, Nathaniel, Deputy Commissary-General, May 
10, 1776; resigned November 23, 1776. 

Shephard, Abraham, Colonel, Tenth, April 17, 1777. 

Williams, John P., Captain, Fifth, April 17, 1776 ; Colonel, 
Ninth, November 26, 1776. 



LIEUTENANT-COLONELS. 

Alston, William, Lieutenant-Colonel, Third, April 15, 
1776, to October 4, 1777. 

Armstrofig, Jolin, Captain, Second, September i, 1775 ; 
Major, Fourth, October 6, 1777; Deputy Adjutant-General 
to General Gates, August 3, 1780; Lieutenant-Colonel, 
Fourth, July 17, 1782; retired January i, 1783. 

Ashe, John Baptista, Captain, First, April 16, 1776; 
Major, Sixth, January 26, 1777; transferred to First, June 
I, 1778; Lieutenant-Colonel, November 2, 1778; died 
November 27, 1802. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 37 

Brewster, Lott, Lieutenant-Colonel, Third, October 25, 
1777; resigned March 15, 1778. 

Davidson, William Lee, Major, Fourth, April 15, 1776; 
Lieutenant-Colonel, Fifth, October 4, 1777; transferred to 
First, June 9, 1779; Brigadier-General of Militia; killed at 
Cowan's Ford, February i, 178 1. 

Davis, William, Captain, First, September i, 1775 ; Major, 
April 10, 1776; Lieutenant-Colonel, February 5, 1777; 
transferred to , June i, 1778. 

Dawson, Levi, Major, Fifth, April 15, 1776; Lieutenant- 
Colonel, First, February 5, 1777. 

Dixon, Henry, Captain, First, September i, 1775 ; Major, 
Third, July 8, 1777; Lieutenant-Colonel, Third, May 12, 
1778; wounded at Stone Ferry, June 20, 1779; Colonel, 
Militia, August, 1780; in Second in 1782; died July 17, 
1782. 

Harney, Selby, Major, Eighth, November 26, 1776; 
Lieutenant-Colonel, Second, November 22, 1777; prisoner 
at Charleston, May 12, 1780; in Third in 1782; retired 
January i, 1783. 

Ingram, James, Lieutenant-Colonel, Eighth, November 27, 
1776; resigned, 1777. 

Irwin, Henry, Lieutenant-Colonel, Fifth, April 15, 1776; 
killed at Germantown, October 4, 1777. 

Lockhart, Samuel, Major, Third, April 15, 1776; Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel, Eighth, October 12, 1777; resigned October 
19, 1777. 

Luttrel, John, Lieutenant-Colonel, Ninth, November 27, 
1776. 

Lytle, Archibald, Captain, Sixth, April i6, 1776; Lieu- 



38 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

tenant-Colonel, January 26, 1777; wounded at Stone Ferry, 
June 20, 1779; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; trans- 
ferred to First, February i, 1781 ; in Fourth in 1782. 

Mebane, Robert, Lieutenant-Colonel, Seventh, November 
26, 1776; transferred to First, June i, 1778; Lieutenant- 
Colonel, commandant Third, June 7, 1779; prisoner at 
Charleston, May 12, 1780. 

MuRFREE, Hardy, Captain, Second, September i, 1775 ; 
Major, February i, 1777; Lieutenant-Colonel, April i, 
1778; in First in 1782; died July 6, 1809. 

Taylor, William, Lieutenant-Colonel, Sixth, April 15, 
1776. 

Thackston, James , Lieutenant-Colonel, Fourth, April 15, 
1776. 

Walker, John, Captain, First, September i, 1775 ; Major, 
April 26, 1777 ; Lieutenant-Colonel, Aide to General Wash- 
ington, February 17, 1777; resigned December 22, 1777; 
died December 2, 1809. 

majors. 

Blount, Reading, Captain, Third, April 16, 1777; Major, 
Fifth, May 12, 1778; in Second in 1782; died October 13, 
1807. 

DoHERTY, George, Lieutenant, Sixth, April 16, 1776; 
Captain, September 10, 1776; Major, July 17, 1782. 

Donoho, Thomas, Lieutenant, Sixth, April 16, 1776; 
Captain, September 10, 1776; Major, October 13, 1781 ; in 
Fourth in 1782. 

Eaton, Pinketham, Captain, Third, April 16, 1776; Major, 
November 22, 1777; killed at Augusta, June 5, 1781. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 39 

Emmett, James, Captain, Third, April 16, 1776; Major, 
First, December 22, 1777; transferred to . 

Fenner, William, Lieutenant, Second, September i, 1775 ; 
Captain, May i, 1776; Major, Seventh, October 24, 1777. 

Granger, Caleb, Captain, First, September i, 1775 ; Major, 
February 5, 1777; resigned April 26, 1777. 

Hogg, Thomas, Lieutenant, First, September i, 1775 ; 
Captain, April 10, 1776; Major, Fifth, September 19, 1777; 
transferred to Third, June i, 1778; prisoner at Charleston, 
May 12, 1780; exchanged March, 1781 ; in Third in 1782; 
Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel. 

McRee, Griffith John, Captain, Sixth, April 16, 1776; 
transferred to First, June i, 1778; prisoner at Charleston, 
May 12, 1780; Major, September 11, 1781 ; in Third in 
1782; Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel, September 30, 1783; 
Captain, Artillerists and Engineers, June 2, 1794; resigned 
April 24, 1798; died October 3, 1801. 

Nelson, John, Captain, Fourth, April 16, 1776; Major, 
February 3, 1778; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; 
exchanged March, 1781 ; in First in 1782; retired January 

I, 1783- 

Polk, William, Major, Ninth, November 27, 1776; 
wounded at Germantown, October 4, 1777 ; Colonel, Militia, 
1777 to 1781 ; died January 4, 1834. 

White, John, Captain, Second, September i, 1775 ; Major, 
April 10, 1776; Colonel, Fourth Georgia, February i, 1777; 
wounded and a prisoner at Savannah, October 9, 1779; 
died of wounds soon afterwards. 

Williams, William B., Major, First, June 13, 1776. 



40 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

CAPTAINS. 

Alderson, Simeon, Captain, Fifth, April i6, 1776. 

Allen, Charles, Ensign, Second, October 20, 1775; Lieu- 
tenant, June 8, 1776; Captain, , 1777; transferred to 

Fifth, June i, 1778. 

Allen, Thomas, Captain, First, September i, 1775 ; re- 
signed August 15, 1776. 

Armstrong, Thomas, Lieutenant, Fifth, April 16, 1776; 
Captain, October 25, 1777; transferred to Second, June i, 
1778 ; wounded and prisoner at Fort Fayette, June i, 1779 ; 
exchanged December, 1779; prisoner at Charleston, May 
12, 1780; exchanged July, 1781 ; in Second in 1782; Brevet 
Major. 

Armstrong, William, Ensign, First, January 4, 1776; 
Second Lieutenant, April 10, 1776; Lieutenant, January i, 
1777) Captain, August 29, 1777; wounded at Ramsour's 
Mills, June 20, 1780; in Third in 1782; retired January i, 
1783. 

Ashe, John, Jr., Captain, Fourth, April 16, 1776. 

Ashe, Samuel, Jr., Captain, Sixth, April 17, 1776; trans- 
ferred to Dragoons, March 7, 1777; to January i, 1781 ; 
died , 1 8 14. 

Bacot, Peter, Ensign, First, September 19, 1776; Sec- 
ond Lieutenant, February 8, 1777; Lieutenant, October 4, 

1777; Captain, , 1780; prisoner at Charleston, May 

12, 1780; exchanged, June, 1781 ; died August 13, 1821. 

Bailey, Benjamin, Lieutenant, Fifth, October i, 1776; 
transferred to First, June i, 1778; Captain, September 8, 
1781; in Third in 1782; retired January i, 1783. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 4I 

Baker, John, Captain, Seventh, July 6, 1777; transferred 
to Third, June i, 1778; Colonel, Militia; wounded at Bull- 
town Swamp, November 19, 1778. 

Ballard, Kedar, Lieutenant, Third, April i6, 1777; 
Captain, October 4, 1777; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 
1780; on parole, August, 1781 ; in Third in 1782; retired 
January i, 1783; Brevet Major; died January 15, 1834. 

Barrot, William, Captain, Third, April 16, 1776. 

Bell, Green, Captain, Seventh, November 28, 1776. 

Blount, James, Captain, Second, September i, 1775. 

Boadley, George, Captain, Third, September 19, 1778. 

Bowman, Joshua, Lieutenant, First, September i, 1775 ; 
Captain, September 18, 1776; killed at Ramsour's Mills, 
June 20, 1780. 

Bradley, Gee, Lieutenant, Third, May — , 1776; Captain, 
September 19, 1778; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; 
in Third in 1782, 

Brevard, Alexander, Lieutenant, Fourth, December 9, 
1776; transferred to First, June i, 1778; Captain, October 
20, 1780; in Third in 1782; retired January i, 1783. 

Brevard, Joel, Captain, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Brickell, Thomas, Captain, Seventh, November 28, 1776. 

Bright, Simon, Captain, Second, September i, 1775 ; 
resigned April, 1776. 

Brinkley, WiUiam, Captain, Third, April 16, 1776. 

Brown, John, Ensign, First, November 15, 1775 ; Second 
Lieutenant, January 4, 1776; Lieutenant, July 7, 1776; 
Captain, April 26, 1777; transferred June i, 1778, to Dra- 
goons. 

Budd, Samuel, Lieutenant, Second, November 11, 1777; 



42 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

Captain, , 1779; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; 

exchanged June, 1781 ; in Second in 1782 as Lieutenant; 
retired January i, 1783. 

Callender, Thomas, Ensign, First, Juqe 6, 1776; Lieu- 
tenant, July 8, 1777; Captain, May 12, 1780; prisoner at 
Charleston, May 12, 1780; exchanged June, 1781 ; in First 
in 1782; retired January i, 1783; died August 20, 1828. 

Campbell, James, Second Lieutenant, Second, April 19, 
1777; Lieutenant, December 21, 1777; Captain, December 
14, 1778; mortally wounded at Stone Ferry, June 20, 
1779. 

Carter, Benjamin, Lieutenant, Fourth, November 22, 
1776; Captain, January i, 1779; in Second in 1782; died 
January 20, 1830. 

Caswell, William, Ensign, Second, September i, 1775 ; 
Captain, Fifth, April 16, 1776. 

Chapman, Samuel, Lieutenant, Eighth, November 28, 
1776; Captain, April 5, 1779; in Fourth in 1782. 

Child, Francis, Lieutenant, Sixth, April 16, 1776; Captain, 
January 26, 1777; transferred to Third, June i, 1778; pris- 
oner at Charleston, May 12, 1780. 

Clark, Thomas, Captain, Artillery, January i, 1777. 

Cleaveland, Benjamin, Ensign, Second, September i, 
1775; Lieutenant, January, 1776; Captain, November, 
1776; Colonel, Militia, August, 1778; died October, 1806. 

Coleman, Benjamin, Captain, Fifth, April 30, 1777; 
transferred to Second, June i, 1778; prisoner at Charleston, 
May 12, 1780; in Second in 1782; Brevet Major. 

Coles, William T., Captain, Fourth, April 16, 1776. 

Cook, Richard D., Captain, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 43 

Cooke, James, Ensign, Second, September i, 1775 ; Cap- 
tain, Third, April 16, 1776. 

Cotten, Josiah, Captain, Seventh, November 28, 1776. 

Council, Arthur, Captain, Sixth, April 16, 1776; died 
1777. 

Council, Robert, Ensign, First, January 4, 1776; Second 
Lieutenant, July 7, 1776; resigned September 10, 1776; 
Ensign, First, March 28, 1777; Second Lieutenant, July 8, 
1777; Captain, Dragoons, July i, 1778. 

Craddock,Joht, Ensign, Second, May 3, 1776 ; Lieutenant, 
January, 1777; Captain, December 21, 1777; prisoner at 
Charleston, May 12, 1780; in Second in 1782; on parole 
until retired, January i, 1783. 

Crawford, Charles, Captain, Second, September i, 1775. 

Darnall, Henry, Captain, Fifth, October i, 1776. 

Daves, John, Quartermaster, Second, June 7, 1776; En- 
sign, September 30, 1776; Lieutenant, October 4, 1777; 
wounded at Stony Point, July 16, 1779; prisoner at Charles- 
ton, May 12, 1780; transferred to Third, January i, 1781 ; 
exchanged June, 1781 ; Captain, September 8, 1781 ; retired 
January' i, 1783; died October 12, 1804; Brevet Major. 

Davidson, George, Captain, First, September i, 1775 ; 
resigned February 5, 1777. 

Dawson, Henry, Captain, Seventh, December 19, 1776; 
resigned October 11, 1777. 

Dayley, Joshua, Lieutenant, Seventh, December 19, 1776 ; 
Captain, October 12, 1777. 

Dennis, William, Lieutenant, Eighth, November 28, 
1776; Captain, September 20, 1777. 

Denny, Samuel, Captain. 



44 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

Dixon, Tilghman, Lieutenant, First, October 20, 17/5 ; 
Captain, February 15, 1777; prisoner at Charleston, May 
12, 1780; exchanged June 14, 1781 ; in First in 1782; re- 
tired January i, 1783. 

Dobson, Captain ; killed June 20, 1780, at Ramsour's Mills. 

Ely, Eli, Lieutenant, Seventh, December 11, 1776; Cap- 
tain, October 12, 1777. 

Ely, Samuel, Captain, Seventh, December 17, 1776. 

Enloe, John, Captain, Fifth, April 16, 1776. 

Evans, Thomas, Ensign, Second, June 6, 1776; Lieu- 
tenant, July 19, 1776; Adjutant, November 22, 1778; pris- 
oner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; exchanged March, 1781 ; 
transferred to First, January i, 1781 ; Captain, June i, 1781 ; 
in Fourth in 1782. 

Fawn {or Farrow), William, Second Lieutenant, Third, 
April 15, 1777; Lieutenant, October 4, 1777; Captain, 
Lieutenant, March 30, 1780; prisoner at Charleston, May 
12, 1780; Captain, ; retired January i, 1783. 

Fenner, Robert, Lieutenant, Second, January i, 1776; 
Captain, October 4, 1777; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 
1780; in Second in 1782; Brevet Major. 

Ferrebee, William, Lieutenant, Seventh, November 28, 
1776; Captain, July i, 1781 ; in Fourth in 1782. 

Gardner, James, Captain, Second, May 1776; resigned 
May 15, 1777. 

Gaston, Robert, Captain, Second, February, 1776. 

Gee, James, Lieutenant, Second, September i, 1775 ; 
Captain, May 3, 1776; died November 12, 1777. 

Gee, , Captain, ; wounded at Eutaw Springs, 

September, 8, 1781. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 45 

Glover, William, Lieutenant, Sixth, April 16, 1776; Cap- 
tain, May 7, 1776. 

Goodin, Christopher, Captain, Fifth, January, 1779; killed 
at Eutaw Springs, September 8, 1781. 

Goodman, William, Captain, Fourth, October i, 1776; 
killed at Eutaw Springs, September 8, 1781. 

Granberry, George, Captain, Third, April 16, 1776. 

Granberry, Thomas, Captain, Third, April 16, 1776; died 
May 20, 1830. 

Gray, John, Captain, Third, April 16, 1776. 

Green, William, Captain, First, September i, 1775 ; re- 
signed January 4, 1776. 

Gregory, Dempsey, Captain, Tenth, April 19, 1777; re- 
signed May 22, 1778. 

Groves, William, Lieutenant, Fifth, April 15, 1776; Cap- 
tain, August 17, 1777. 

Gurley, WilHam, Captain, Eighth, November 28, 1776. 

Hadley, Joshua, Ensign, Sixth, April 16, 1776; Lieu- 
tenant, April I, 1777; Captain, June 13, 1779; wounded at 
Eutaw Springs, September 8, 1781; in First in 1782; died 
February 8, 1830. 

Hall, Clement, Lieutenant, Second, September i, 1775 ; 
Captain, April 19, 1777; in Second in 1782; Brevet Major; 
died August 4, 1824. 

Hall, James, Captain, Ninth, May, 1777. 

Hargett, Frederick, Captain, Eighth, November 28, 1776. 

Harris, Thomas, Captain, Fourth, April 16, 1776. 

Henderson, Michael, Captain, Ninth, November 28, 1776, 

Heritage, John, Lieutenant, Second, September i, 1775 ; 
Captain, May 3, 1776; resigned May 15, 1777. 



46 REGISTER OE NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

Heron, Armwell, Captain, Tenth, April 19, 1777. 

Ingles, John, Lieutenant, Second, May 3, 1776; Captain, 
October 24, 1777; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; 
in Second in 1782. 

James, John, Captain, Sixth, April 16, 1776. 

Jarvis, John, Captain, Tenth, April 19, 1777. 

Jones, Daniel, Captain, Third, May, 1776; omitted June, 
1778. 

Jones, Samuel, Lieutenant, Sixth, January, 1777; Captain, 
1781. 

Jones, Samuel, Lieutenant, Tenth, October 4, 1777 ; trans- 
ferred to Third, 1779; Captain, September 11, 1781 ; re- 
tired January I, 1783. 

Keais, Nathaniel, Captain, Second, September i, 1775. 

King, James, Ensign, First, June i, 1776; Second Lieu- 
tenant, August 15, 1776; Lieutenant, April 3, 1777; Cap- 
tain, March 30, 1780; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 
1780; died in captivity. 

Kingsbury, John, Captain, Independent Company Artil- 
lery, July 19, 1777; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 
1780. 

Lewis, Micajah, Captain, Fourth, July 25, 1777; wounded 
at King's Mountain, October 7, 1780; Major of Militia; 
killed, 1781. 

Little, William (spelled also Lytle), Lieutenant, Sixth, 
April 16, 1776; Captain, January 28, 1779; transferred to 
First, January, 1781 ; in Fourth in 1782. 

Maclaine, John, Captain, Fourth, April 16, 1776. 

Macon, John, Lieutenant, Seventh, November 28, 1776; 
Captain, December 11, 1776. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 4/ 

7J/«^^«m,/(?/^«, Lieutenant, Third, April 15, 1777; Cap- 
tain, December 23, 1777; in First in 1782. 

Martin, James, Lieutenant, Second, May 3, 1776; Cap- 
tain, April 20, 1777; transferred to Fifth, June i, 1778. 

May, James, Jr., Captain, Eighth, November 28, 1776. 

McCrory, Thomas, Captain, Ninth, November 28, 
1776. 

McGlaughan, John, Captain, Seventh, November 28, 
1776. 

McNees,John, Second Lieutenant, Third, February, 1777 ; 
Lieutenant, November 20, 1777; prisoner at Charleston, 
May 12, 1780; exchanged June, 1781 ; Captain, ; trans- 
ferred to First, January i, 1781 ; in Third as Lieutenant 
in 1782. 

Medici, Cosmo, Captain Light Horse. 

Mills, James, Captain, Tenth, June, 1779. 

Mitchell, George, Captain, Sixth, April 16, 1776, 

MoNTFORDj Joseph, Lieutenant, Third, May, 1776; Cap- 
tain, January 9, 1779; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 
1780; Captain, First United States Infantry, June 3, 1790; 
killed, April 27, 1792, by Indians, near Fort Jefferson, 
Ohio. 

Moore, Alfred, Captain, First, September i, 1775 ; re- 
signed, March 8, 1777; died October 15, 18 10. 

Moore, Elijah, Lieutenant, Tenth, October 12, 1777 ; trans- 
ferred to First, September, 1778; Captain, October 13, 
1781 ; retired January i, 1783. 

Moore, Isaac, Captain, Tenth, April 19, 1777; transferred 
to First, June i, 1778; died July 10, 1778. 

Moore, Roger, Captain, Fourth, April 16, 1776. 



48 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

Neale, Henry, Ensign, First, September i, 1775 ; Second 
Lieutenant, January 4, 1776; Lieutenant, March 28, 1776; 
Captain, February 5, 1777; resigned April 3, 1777. 

Nichols, C. or E., Captain, Third. 

Nixon, Thomas, Captain, Eighth, November 28, 1776; 
resigned September 20, 1777. 

Payne, Michael, Captain, Second, September i, 1775. 

Pearl, James, Ensign, Eighth, November 28, 1776; Lieu- 
tenant, October 29, 1777; Captain, July 17, 1780; in First 
as Lieutenant in 1782; retired January i, 1783. 

Phifer, Martin, Captain, Light Horse, March, 1777, to 
April, 1780. 

Philips, Joseph, Captain, Fourth, April 16, 1776, 

Pickett, William, Captain, First, September i, 1775, to 
January 4, 1776. 

Pike, Benjamin, Lieutenant, Sixth, April 16, 1776; Cap- 
tain, April 28, 1777. 

Pope, Henry, Ensign, First, September i, 1775 ; Captain, 
Eighth, November 28, 1776. 

Porterfield, Dennis, Captain, Fifth, February i, 1779; 
killed at Eutaw Springs, September 8, 1781. 

Poynter, John, Captain, Seventh, November 28, 1776. 

Quinn, Michael, Lieutenant, Third, January, 1777; Cap- 
tain, Eighth, August i, 1777. 

Raiford, Robert, Captain, Eighth, November 28, 1776; 
in Second in 1782; Brevet Major. 

Ramsey, Matthew, Captain, Ninth, November 28, 1776; 
in Fourth in 1782. 

Read, James, Ensign, First, January 4, 1776; Second 
Lieutenant, July 6, 1776; Lieutenant, July 7, 1776; Cap- 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 49 

tain, July 8, 1777', prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; 
Brevet Major. 

Reed, Jesse, Second Lieutenant, Sixth, October 20, 1776; 
Lieutenant, October 25, 1777] transferred to Second, June 
I, 1778; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; exchanged 
June 14, 1781 ; prisoner at Eutaw Springs, September 8, 
1781 ; Captain, October 15, 1781 ; in Third in 1782; retired 
January i, 1783. 

Rhodes, Joseph T,, Captain, Tenth, August i, 1777; 
wounded at Stone Ferry, June 20, 1779; in Fourth in 1782 ; 
Brevet Major. 

Rice, Hezekiah, Lieutenant, First, 1775 ; Captain, Novem- 
ber 28, 1776; omitted January, 1778. 

Rochel, John, Captain, Ninth, November 28, 1776; 
omitted January, 1778. 

Rolston, Robert, Ensign, First, September i, 1775 ; 
Second Lieutenant, January 4, 1776; Lieutenant, March 
28, 1776; Captain, March 8, 1777; resigned August 29, 
1777. 

Rowan, Robert, Captain, First, September i, 1775; re- 
signed June 29, 1776. 

Saunders, Jesse, Captain, Sixth, April 16, 1776; resigned 
May, 1776. 

Scull, John Gambier, Ensign, First, June i, 1 776; Lieu- 
tenant, November 21, 1776; Captain, April 26, 1777; in 
service in 1780. 

Sharp, Anthony, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776; 
Captain, August 24, 1777, in Fourth in 1782; Brevet 
Major. 

Shephard, William, Captain, Tenth, January 20, 1778. 

4 



50 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

Simons, Peter, Captain, Fifth, April i6, 1776. 

Slaughter John, Captain. 

Smith, Robert, Lieutenant, Second, September i, 1775; 
Captain, Fourth, April 16, 1776; Colonel of Militia. 

Standin, Thomas, Ensign, Second, October 20, 1775 ; 

Lieutenant, May 3, 1776; Captain, ; resigned May 15, 

1777. 

Stedman, Benjamin, Captain, Fifth, April 16, 1776. 

Stevenson, Silas, Captain, Tenth, April 19, 1777. 

Stewart, Charles, Lieutenant, Fifth, July 23, 1777; trans- 
ferred to Second, June i, 1778 ; prisoner at Charleston, May 
12, 1780; Captain, May 18, 1781 ; in Second in 1782. 

Summers, John, Ensign, First, March 28, 1776; Second 
Lieutenant, July 7, 1776; Lieutenant, February 5, 1777; 
Captain, July 10, 1778; prisoner at Williamson's Planta- 
tion, July 12, 1780; in First in 1782; retired January i, 

1783. 

Tarrant, Manlove, Ensign, Second, May 3, 1776; Lieu- 
tenant, June 8, 1776 ; Captain, October 24, 1777 ; transferred 
to , June I, 1778. 

Tartanson, Francis, Captain, Eighth, January 16, 1777. 

Tate, Joseph, Lieutenant, Second, September i, 1775 ; 
Captain, , 1776; died June 2, 1777. 

Tatum, Absolom, Lieutenant, First, September i, 1775; 
Captain, June 29, 1776; resigned September 19, 1776. 

Tatum, Howell, Ensign, First, September i, 1775 ; 
Second Lieutenant, January 4, 1776; Lieutenant, March 28, 
1776; Captain, April 3, 1777; prisoner at Charleston, May 
12, 1780; exchanged June 14, 1781 ; in First in 1782; on 
parole to close of war; Brevet Major. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 5 1 

Taylor, Philip, Captain, Sixth, April i6, 1776. 

Thompson, Lawrence, Lieutenant, First, September i, 
1775 ; Captain, August 15, 1776; transferred to . 

Tool, Henry Irwin, Captain, Second, September i, 1775 I 
resigned April, 1776. 

Turner, Jacob, Captain, Third, April 16, 1776; killed at 
Germantown, October 4, 1777. 

Vail, Edward, Lieutenant, Second, September i, 1775 ; 
Captain, August 21, 1776; cashiered December 21, 1777. 

Vanoy, Andrew, Captain, Tenth, April 19, 1777. 

Vaughan, James, Lieutenant, Seventh, November 28, 
1776; Captain, December 19, 1776. 

Wade, Joseph J., Captain, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Walker, Joseph, Captain, Seventh, November 28, 1776. 

Walsh, Johfiy Captain, Eighth, November 28, 1776. 

Walton, William, Second Lieutenant, Seventh, April 20, 
1777 ; transferred to First, June i, 1778 ; Lieutenant, August 
15, 1778; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; exchanged 
April, 1781; Captain, August i, 1781 ; in First in 1782; 
retired January i, 1783. 

Ward, Edward, Captain, Eighth, November 28, 1776; 
resigned August i, 1777. 

Ward, William, Captain, Fifth, April 16, 1776. 

White, Thomas, Lieutenant, Sixth, April 16, 1776; Cap- 
tain, January 20, 1777. 

Williams, Benjamin, Lieutenant, Second, September i, 
1775 ; Captain, July 19, 1776. 

Williams, Daniel, Lieutenant, Sixth, April 16, 1776; 
Captain, April i, 1777; transferred to Third, June i, 1778. 

Williams, James, Lieutenant, Fourth, June 7, 1776; Cap- 



52 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

tain, April 3, 1777; Colonel, Rangers; killed at King's 
Mountain, October 7, 1780. 

Williams, William, Lieutenant and Adjutant, First, 
September i, 1775 ; Captain, Invalid Regiment, April i, 
1778; retired June, 1783. 

Wilson, James, Captain, Tenth, April 19, 1777; resigned 
May, 1778. 

Wood, Matthew, Lieutenant, Third, July 24, 1776 ; Cap- 
tain, November 22, 1777. 

Yarbo ROUGH, Edward, Ensign, Third, May 8, 1776; 
Lieutenant, April 16, 1777; Captain, May 10, 1779; in 
Third in 1782; retired January i, 1783. 

lieutenants. 

Alexander, Charles, Lieutenant, Fourth, January 20, 
1777. 

Alexander, William, Ensign, Tenth, May 10, 1781; 
Lieutenant, September 8, 1781 ; in Fourth in 1782. 

Allen, John, Lieutenant, Fifth, October i, 1776. 

Allen, Thomas, Lieutenant, Third, March 17, 1778; 
prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; died in prison, 
August 26, 1780. 

Allen, Walter, Ensign, Fifth, March 28, 1777 ; Lieutenant, 
October 4, 1777. 

Amis, Thomas, Commissary, Third, December 22, 1776. 

Andrews, Richard, Ensign, Second, November i, 1777; 
Second Lieutenant, March, 1778; prisoner at Fort Fayette, 
June I, 1779; Lieutenant, May 10, 1780; exchanged March 
26, 1781 ; wounded at Eutaw Springs, September 8, 1781 ; 
in Second in 1782. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 53 

Armstrong, Andrew, Lieutenant, Sixth, April 16, 1776. 
Ashe, Samuel, Jr., Ensign, Sixth, April, 1 779 ; Lieutenant, 
— , 1780; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; ex- 



changed June 14, 1781 ; in Ninth (Tenth?) in January, 
1 78 1, and Third in 1782; died 1835. 

Baker, Peter, Lieutenant, First, February 8, 1777. 

Barber, William, Lieutenant, Tenth, April 19, 1777. 

Barrow, Jacob, Lieutenant, Seventh, December 22, 1776. 

Barrow, Samuel, Lieutenant, Seventh, November 28, 
1776. 

Beeks, William, Adjutant, Seventh, November 22, 1777. 

Bell, Robert, Lieutenant, First, September 8, 1781 ; in 
Second in 1782. 

Berryhill, William, Lieutenant, First, September i, 1775. 

Blount, Jesse, Commissary, Eighth, December 11, 1776. 

Blount, Thomas, Lieutenant, Fifth, April 28, 1777. 

Blythe, Samuel, Ensign, First, March 28, 1776; Second 
Lieutenant, July 7, 1776; Lieutenant, February 5, 1777; 
resigned May 16, 1778. 

Brandon, William, Lieutenant, First, September i, 1775 ; 
resigned March, 1776. 

Brevard, John, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Brevard, Joseph, Lieutenant, First, before March, 1780; 
Lieutenant, Tenth, August i, 1781 ; in Third in 1782. 

Brown, Morgan, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Bryan, Hardy, Commissary, Seventh, December 11, 1776. 

Bryant, John, Jr., Lieutenant, Seventh, November 28, 
1776. 

Buford, William, Ensign, First Troop, Dragoons, July 16, 
1777, to January i, 1779. 



54 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

Bullock, Daniel, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Bush, John, Adjutant, Eighth, August 7, 1781. 

Bush, William, Adjutant, Eighth, May 12, 1781. 

Campbell, John, Lieutenant, Tenth, April 5, 1779; in 
Fourth in 1782. 

Campbell, John, Second Lieutenant, Second, Continental 
Artillery, June 29, 1781 to June, 1783. 

Campen, James, Ensign, Second, December 11, 1776; 
Lieutenant, December 21, 1777; wounded and a prisoner 
at Charleston, May 12, 1780; exchanged June 14, 1781 ; in 
Second in 1782; Brevet Captain. 

Cannon, Lewis, Lieutenant, Tenth, April 19, 1777. 

Carnes, Thomas J., Lieutenant, Artillery, January i, 1777 ; 
resigned March 8, 1779. 

Carraway, Gideon, Lieutenant, Eighth, November 28, 
1776. 

Clark, Thomas, Ensign, Ninth, November 28, 1776; 
Lieutenant, February 10, 1779; in Fourth in 1782. 

Clendennin, John, Lieutenant, Third, December 23, 1777; 
Quartermaster, December 14, 1779; prisoner at Charleston, 
May 12, 1780; exchanged, June 14, 1781 ; in Third in 
1782. 

Coffield, Benjamin, Adjutant, Sixth, May 17, 1777. 

Coleman, Theophilus, Lieutenant, Seventh, November 
28, 1776. 

Colgrave, Arthur, Lieutenant, Second, March 26, 1776. 
(See Cotgrave.) 

Colman, Charles, Quartermaster, Third, October 14, 1777. 

Conger, Stephen, Adjutant, First, January 29, 1778; re- 
tired June I, 1778. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 55 

Cook, George, Second Lieutenant, Tenth, April 19, 
1777; Lieutenant, July 10, 1777; transferred to First, June 
I, 1778; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780. 

Cooper, Solomon, Lieutenant, Tenth, January 20, 1778. 

Cooper, William, Lieutenant, Fifth, April 16, 1776. 

Coots, James, Lieutenant, Fourth, November 20, 1776. 

Cotgrave, Arthur (also called Anthony) ; Lieutenant, 
Second, March 26, 1777; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 
1780; exchanged June 14, 1781 ; in Second in 1782. 

Covington, James, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Covington, William, Adjutant, Fourth, March 28, 1777. 

Cowan, David, Lieutenant, Tenth, March 20, 1779. 

Crafton, Benjamin, Adjutant, Sixth, April 15, 1776. 

Craven, James, Ensign, First, June 12, 1776; Second 
Lieutenant, January i, 1777; Lieutenant, July 28, 1777; 
discharged November 20, 1779. 

Cnitches, Anthony, Ensign, Fifth, February 27, 1780; 
Lieutenant, May 18, 1781 ; in Second in 1782. 

Curtis, John, Lieutenant, Fifth, October i, 1776. 

Daniel, James, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Davis, Abraham, Adjutant, Seventh, December 22, 1776; 
resigned November 21, 1777; name also spelled Dawes. 

Dawes, Josiah, Quartermaster, Seventh, July 10, 1777. 

DeKeyser, Lehansyus, Adjutant, First, November, 15, 
1775; Second Lieutenant, January 4, 1776; Lieutenant, 
February 3, 1776; resigned December 10, 1776. 

Dent, William, Commissary, Ninth, December 11, 1776. 

Dickenson, Richard, Ensign, Sixth, April 2, 1777; Lieu- 
tenant, October 10, 1777; transferred to First, June i, 1778; 
dismissed November 20, 1779. 



$6 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

Dickerson, Nathaniel, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 
1776. 

Diggs, Anthony, Lieutenant, Fifth, August 20, 1777. 

Dillain, John, Lieutenant, Tenth, February, 1779. 

Dillon, Benjamin, Lieutenant, Seventh, October 12, 1777. 

Dillon, James, Second Lieutenant, Seventh, January, 
1777; Lieutenant, October 12, 1777; transferred to Second, 
June I, 1778; killed at Eutaw Springs, September 8, 
1781. 

Dixon, Charles, Ensign, Sixth, April 2, 1777; Paymaster, 
January 19, 1778; transferred to Third, July i, 1778; Lieu- 
tenant, February 8, 1779; wounded at Eutaw Springs, 
September 8, 1781 ; in Fourth in 1782; retired January i, 

1783- 

Dixon, Wynn, Lieutenant, Tenth, July 5, 178 1 ; in Fourth 

in 1782; died November 24, 1829, 

Dobbins, Hugh, Lieutenant, Ninth, , 1777. 

Douglass, William, Quartermaster, Fourth, February 10, 
1777. 

Dudley, Thomas, Musician, Sixth in 1776; Ensign, Tenth, 
1778; Lieutenant, June 20, 1779; wounded at Eutaw 
Springs, September 8, 1781 ; in Third in 1782; retired 
January i, 1783. 

Eason, Seth, Lieutenant, Seventh, November 28, 1776. 

Eborne, John, Lieutenant, Fifth, October i, 1776. 

Eborne, Thomas, Lieutenant, Fifth, April 16, 1776. 

Ewell, William, Lieutenant, Fifth, April 20, 1777. 

Faircloth, William, Lieutenant, Tenth, January 20, 1778. 

Fenner, Richard, Paymaster, Second, June i, 1778; 
Ensign, January 10, 1779; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 57 

1780; exchanged June 14, 178 1 ; Lieutenant, May 12, 178 1 ; 
in Second in 1782. 

Ferrebee, Joseph, Lieutenant, Tenth, May 5, 1777- 

Ferrell, Luke L., Lieutenant, Tenth, , 1778. 

Ferrill, William, Lieutenant, Second, September 8, 1777; 
also in Tenth. 

Finney, Thomas, Ensign, Second, November 12, 1777; 
prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; Lieutenant, January 
23, 1781 ; exchanged June 14, 178 1 ; in Second in 1782. 

Foakes, Yelverton, Quartermaster, First, February 3, 
1776; resigned August i, 1776. 

Ford, John (also spelled Foard), Ensign, Third, Novem- 
ber 30, 1778; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; ex- 
changed June 14, 1781 ; Lieutenant, Tenth, January 23, 
1781 ; in Third in 1782. 

Foreman, Caleb, Lieutenant, Eighth, November 28, 1776. 

Gambelle, Edmund, Ensign, First, March 28, 1776; 
Second Lieutenant, July 7, 1776; Lieutenant, January 20, 
1777; transferred to Dragoons, June i, 1778. 

Gardner, William, Ensign, Second, September i, 1775 ; 
Lieutenant, October 20, 1775. 

Catling, Levi, Lieutenant, Tenth, February 12, 1778; 
transferred to Second, June i, 1778; cashiered August 18, 
1778. 

Gee, Howell, Ensign, Seventh, April 15, 1777; Lieu- 
tenant, November, 1777. 

Gerald, Charles, Ensign, Fifth, April 30, 1777; Lieu- 
tenant, September 19, 1777. 

Gerrard, Charles, Lieutenant, Second, June i, 1778; 
transferred to Fifth ; transferred to First, January 



58 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

I, 1 781; wounded and prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 
1780; exchanged June 14, 1781 ; in Second in 1782; 
spelled also Garrard. 

Gillespie, Robert, Ensign, Fourth, 1777; Lieutenant, 
August, 1777. 

Godfrey, William, Lieutenant, Eighth, November 28, 
1776; resigned August 15, 1777. 

Graham, Richard, Lieutenant, Second, June 8, 1776. 

Grainger, John, Lieutenant, Second, September i, 1775. 

Granberry, John, Lieutenant, Third, , 1777. 

Graves, Francis, Quartermaster, Eighth, September i, 
1777; Ensign, Third, October 26, 1777; Quartermaster, 
Tenth, November 6, 1778; Lieutenant, July 14, 1779; pris- 
oner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; exchanged June 14, 
1781 ; in Third in 1782. 

Green, Joseph, Commissary, Eighth, December 11, 1776, 

Greer, Robert, Lieutenant, Eighth, November 28, 1776, 

Hair, John, Lieutenant, First, August 16, 1777. 

Hall, Thomas, Ensign, First, December 24, 1776; Lieu- 
tenant, February 8, 1777; resigned April 3, 1777. 

Handcock, William, Lieutenant, Sixth, April 28, 1777. 

Hargrave, William, Ensign, Tenth, January 16, 177^) 
transferred to First, June i, 1778; Lieutenant, March 30, 
1780; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; exchanged 
June 14, 1781 ; in First in 1782 ; retired January i, 1783. 

Harris, West, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Harrison, William, Ensign, Seventh, December 11, 1776; 
Second Lieutenant, January, 1777; Lieutenant, July 15, 
1777. 

Hart, Anthony, Ensign, Third, April 15, 1777; Lieu- 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 59 

tenant, November 22, 1777; Adjutant, 1778; prisoner at 
Charleston, May 12, 1780; exchanged, June 14, 1781 ; in 
Third in 1782. 

Hart, John, Lieutenant, Sixth, May 7, 1776. 

Hart, Samuel, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Hart, Thomas, Commissary, Sixth, April 23, 1776. 

Hays, James, Lieutenant, Seventh, November 28, 1776. 

Hays, Robert, Ensign, Fourth, August 16, 1777; Second 
Lieutenant, October 9, 1777; transferred to First, June i, 
1778; Lieutenant, February 16, 1780; prisoner at Charles- 
ton, May 12, 1780; exchanged June 14, 1781 ; in First in 
1782. 

Henderson, Pleasant, Lieutenant, Sixth, April 16, 1776. 

Hewell, WilHam, Lieutenant, Fifth, March 28, 1777. 

Hickman, William, Lieutenant, Fourth, , 1777. 

Hill, John, Ensign, Tenth, April 4, 178 1 ; Lieutenant, 
July 5, 1781 ; in Fourth in 1782. 

Hill, William, Lieutenant, First, September i, 1775. 

Hilton, William, Lieutenant, Sixth, April i, 1777; killed 
at Stony Point, July 15, 1779. 

Hodges, John, Ensign, Fifth, May 4, 1776; Lieutenant, 
October i, 1776. 

Hodgton, Alvery, Lieutenant, Third, -, 1777; Adju- 
tant, , 1777. 

Holland, Spier, Ensign, Fifth, March 24, 1776; Lieuten- 
ant, October 25, 1777. 

Hollings worth, Charles, Lieutenant, Fourth, . 

HoUowell, Samuel, Lieutenant, Eighth, September 20, 
1777. 

Holmes, Hardy, Lieutenant, Tenth, , 1781. 



6o REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

IvEY, Curtis, Ensign, Fifth, April 23, 1777 ; Second 
Lieutenant, October 10, 1777; Lieutenant, February i, 
1779; in Fourth in 1782. 

Ivory, Curtis, Ensign, Third, December 19, 1777; Lieu- 
tenant, 1778; was in service in 1780. 

Jacobs, John, Ensign, Second, June 6, 1776; Lieutenant, 
November i, 1776; resigned March i, 1778. 

Johnson, James, Quartermaster, Sixth, April 2, 1777. 

Johnson, Joseph, Lieutenant, First, February i, 1779; 
prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; in First in 1782. 
..^ V Johnson, Joshua, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Jones, David, Lieutenant, Fourth, April 3, 1777. 

Jones, Maurice, Lieutenant, Sixth, June 15, 1776. 

Jones, Philip, Lieutenant, Artillery, July 19, 1777; pris- 
oner at Charleston, May 12, 1780. 

Jones, Philip, Lieutenant, Eighth, November 28, 1776. 

Jones, Timothy, Lieutenant, Tenth, April 19, 1777. 

Jones, Thomas, Lieutenant, Seventh, April 17, 1777. 

Kennon, John, Lieutenant, Sixth, April 16, 1776. 

Kennon, William, Commissary, First, September 23, 
1776; resigned April, 1777. 

Knott, William, Lieutenant, Fourth, , 1777. 

Koen, Caleb, Lieutenant, Tenth, April 19, 1777. 

Lackey, Christopher, Lieutenant, Third, , 1777. 

Lamb, Abner, Ensign, First, , 1780; Lieutenant, 

June I, 1781 ; wounded at Eutaw Springs, September 8, 
1781 ; in First in 1782. 

Langford, Alio way. Ensign, Eighth, February 8, 1777; 
Lieutenant, August i, 1777. 

Lassiter, Jethro, Ensign, Seventh, November 28, 1776; 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 6 1 

Second Lieutenant, January, 1777; Lieutenant, October 12, 
1777. 

Lawrence, Nathaniel, Ensign, Second, June i, 1777; 
Lieutenant, Tenth, June i, 1778; prisoner at Charleston, 
May 12, 1780; exchanged April 18, 1781 ; in Second in 
1782 as Lieutenant, January 23, 1781, with name spelled 
Nathan Lawrence. 

Lewis, Joel, Lieutenant, Tenth, August i, 1779; wounded 
at King's Mountain, October 7, 1780. 

Lewis, Joseph, Lieutenant, Eighth, November 28, 1776. 

Lewis, William, Lieutenant, Ninth, March, 1777. 

Lillington, John, Lieutenant, First, September i, 1775 ; 
resigned May, 1776; Colonel of Militia, 1779 to 1782. 

Linton, William, Lieutenant, Third, July 24, 1776. 

Lockey, Christopher, Lieutenant, Fifth, May 3, 1776. 

Long, Nehemiah, Lieutenant, Fifth, October 4, 1776. 

Love, Amos, Lieutenant, Sixth, April 16, 1776. 

Lowe, John, Lieutenant, Tenth, April 19, 1777. 

Lowe, Philip, Ensign, Second, September i, 1775; Lieu- 
tenant, May 3, 1776; resigned February i, 1777; Major, 

Third Georgia, June 18, 1778; Lieutenant-Colonel, ; 

retired January i, 1781. 

Luton, James, Ensign, Second, April i, 1777; Lieutenant, 
October 4, 1777; resigned March 10, 1778. 

Lynch, John, Lieutenant, Seventh, November 28, 1776. 

Lytle, Micajah, Lieutenant, Third, May 3, 1776. 

Mallett, Daniel, Commissary, Fourth, December 16, 1776. 

Mallett, Peter, Commissary, Fifth, April 23, 1776. 

Marshall, Dixon, Ensign, First, March 28, 1777; Second 
Lieutenant, April 26, 1777; Lieutenant, July — , 1779; 



62 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; exchanged June 14, 
1781 ; died August 22, 1824. 

Martin, Samuel, Lieutenant, Second, June 8, 1776. 

Mason, Richard, Ensign, Second, September 4, 1778 ; 
Lieutenant, 1780. 

McAlister, Neil, Ensign, First, September i, 1775; Sec- 
ond Lieutenant, January 4, 1776 ; Lieutenant, June 29, 1776 ; 
resigned January 20, 1777. 

McCanley, Matthew, Lieutenant, Tenth, April 19, 1777. 

McCann, John, Lieutenant, Sixth, April 16, 1776. 

McGibbony, Patrick, Ensign, Fourth, November 27, 
1776; Lieutenant, December 9, 1776. 

Mcllwaine, Stringer, Lieutenant, Second, , 1777. 

(See McKlewaine.) 

McNaughton, John, Lieutenant, Eighth, November 28, 
1776. 

McNeill, Hector, Lieutenant, First, September i, 1775; 
deserted February 3, 1776. 

McSheehy, Miles, Adjutant, Ninth, February 12, 1777. 

Messick, Jacob, Ensign, Eighth, November 18, 1776; 
Lieutenant, April 24, 1777. 

Milligan, James, Ensign, First, March 28, 1777; Second 
Lieutenant, April 23, 1777; Lieutenant, August 29, 1777; 
dismissed July 13, 1778, by sentence of a court-martial. 

Mills ^ Benjamift, Lieutenant, Eighth, January, 1777 \ 
resigned July 12, 1777 ; Lieutenant, Dragoons, July 15, 1777. 

Moore, Dempsey, Lieutenant, Sixth, April 16, 1776. 

Moore, James, Ensign, First, , 1780; Lieutenant, 

July I, 1781 ; wounded at Eutaw Springs, September 8, 
1781 ; in First in 1782. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 63 

Moore, John, Lieutenant, Seventh, December 17, 1776. 

Moorehead, James, Lieutenant, Tenth, March 23, 1779. 

Moslander, Abel, Lieutenant, Fourth, January 25, 1777. 

Myrick, John, Ensign, Seventh, November 28, 1776; 
Lieutenant, December 11, 1776. 

Nash, Clement, Lieutenant, Second, May 3, 1776; re- 
signed February i, 1777; Captain, Third Georgia, April 10, 
1777; prisoner at Briar Creek, March 3, 1779; exchanged 
, prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780. 

Neal, William, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Nicholso7i, Robert, Lieutenant, Tenth, April 19, 1777; 
transferred to First, June i, 1778; resigned June 25, 1779; 
died May 21, 18 19. 

Noblen, William, Lieutenant, Seventh, November 28, 
1776. 

Nuthall, Nathaniel, Ensign, Ninth, May 20, 1777; Ad- 
jutant, May 26, 1777. 

O'Neal, Charles, Ensign, Third, April 18, 1777; Lieuten- 
ant, July 20, 1777. 

Owen, Stephen, Lieutenant, Eighth, August 15, 1777. 

Owens, John, Lieutenant, Sixth, May 7, 1776. 

Parker, Kedar, Ensign, Sixth, May 7, 1776; Lieutenant, 
September 19, 1776. 

Parkinson, James, Lieutenant, Second, 1777 ; died March 
26, 1778; spelled also Parkerson. 

Pasteur, John, Lieutenant, Sixth, July 7, 1776. 

Pasteur, Thomas, Ensign, Fourth, July 15, 1777; Lieu- 
tenant,' December 29, 1777; transferred to First, June i, 
1778; Adjutant, June 26, 1779; prisoner at Charleston, 
May 12, 1780; exchanged June 14, 1781; in First by the 



64 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

arrangement of February 6, 1782; Paymaster, Fourth, 
October 19, 1782; Lieutenant of Infantry, United States 
Army, June 3, 1790; Captain, First United States Infantry, 
March 5, 1792; in First Sub-Legion, September 4, 1792; 
in First United States Infantry, November i, 1796; Major, 
Second Infantry, April 11, 1803; died July 29, 1806. 

Polk, Charles, Lieutenant, Fourth, April 25, 1777. 

,Polk, Thomas, Lieutenant, ; killed at Eutaw, Sep- 
tember 8, 1 78 1. 

Pollock. Jacob, Lieutenant, Fourth, , 1776. 

Powers, James, Lieutenant, Seventh, November 28, 1776. 

Powers, James, Lieutenant, Third, April 20, 1777. 

Pyeatt, Peter, Lieutenant, Tenth, March 30, 1781. 

Raiford, John, Lieutenant, Second, , 1777; resigned 

February i, 1778; spelled also Radford. 

Ramsay, Allen, Lieutenant, Seventh, December 19, 1776, 

Redpeth, John, Lieutenant, Fourth, August 20, 1777; 
killed October 13, 1777. 

Reese, George, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Respess, Richard, Lieutenant, Eighth, November 28, 1776. 

Rice, John, Adjutant, First, December 10, 1776; Ensign, 
March 28, 1777; Second Lieutenant, April 3, 1777; First 
Lieutenant, First Continental Dragoons, June i, 1778. 

Roberts, John, Lieutenant, Fifth, March 28, 1777; trans- 
ferred to Second, June i, 1778. 

Rochel, Lovick, Lieutenant, Third, November 28, 1776; 
resigned November, 1777. 

Rogers, Patrick, Quartermaster, First, November 3, 1776. 
Ensign, March 28, 1777; Lieutenant, April 3, 1777; died 
April 19, 1778. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 65 

Rolston, Isaac, Ensign, Second, June 8, 1776; Lieutenant, 
— , 1777; transferred to , June i, 1778. 



Ross, Francis, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Roulledge, William, Lieutenant, Fourth, January 25, 
1777; resigned August 20, 1777. 

Rountree, Reuben, Lieutenant, Tenth, April 19, 1777. 

Rushworm, William, Lieutenant, Third, April 16, 1777. 

Salter, James, Commissary, Second, December 19, 1776. 

Salter, Robert, Commissary, Second, April 23, 1776. 

Saunders, William, Ensign, Sixth, April 2, 1777 ; trans- 
ferred to First, June i, 1778 ; Lieutenant, February 8, 1779; 
in Fourth in 1782; retired January i, 1783. 

Sawyer, Levi, Second Lieutenant, Second, May 15, 1776; 
Lieutenant, , 1777; resigned March 16, 1778. 

Scurlock, James, Lieutenant, Tenth, September 11, 1781; 
in Fourth in 1782, 

Shaw, Daniel, Ensign, Sixth, April 2, 1777; Second 
Lieutenant, October 11, 1777; transferred to First, June i, 
1778; Quartermaster, June 2, 1778; prisoner at Charleston, 
May 12, 1780; exchanged June 14, 1781. 

Singleton, Richard, Lieutenant, Second, June 17, 1775. 

Singleton, William, Lieutenant, Eighth, November 28, 
1776; resigned October 26, 1777. 

Slade, Stephen, Quartermaster, Second, January i, 1778J 
prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; Lieutenant, January 
23, 1781 ; exchanged June 14, 178 1 ; in Second in 1782. 

Slade, William, Ensign, Fourth, January 2, 1777; Lieu- 
tenant, May I, 1777; transferred to First, June i, 1778; 
Adjutant, June i, 1778; resigned February 18, 1780. 

Smith, Jabez, Lieutenant, Fifth, September i, 1777. 

5 



66 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

Snowden, Nathaniel, Lieutenant, Tenth, June 5, 1778. 

Snowden, William, Lieutenant, Seventh, November 28, 
1776. 

Southall, Stephen, Second Lieutenant, Second, April i, 
1777; also in Tenth; Lieutenant, First Continental Artil- 
lery, , 1780; retired January i, 1783. 

Southerland, Ransome, Commissary, Fourth, April 23, 
1776. 

Spratt, Thomas, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Steed, Jesse, Lieutenant, Tenth, September 8, 1781; in 
First in 1782. 

Stewart, George, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Stewart, Joseph, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Stewart, Nicholas, Lieutenant, Second, April 30, 1777. 

Sugg, George, Lieutenant, Fifth, , 1776. 

Swann, Nimrod, Quartermaster, Fifth, June 8, 1777. 

Tatu7n, James, Ensign, Ninth, August 12, 1777; Second 
Lieutenant, January i, 1778; Lieutenant, December 14, 
1779; prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; exchanged 
June 14, 1781 ; in Third in 1782 ; on parole to close of war ; 
died September 10, 1821. 

Thompson, Samuel, Lieutenant, Sixth, April 16, 1776. 

Tillery, John, Lieutenant, Third, , 1777. 

Turbee, WilHam, Lieutenant, Third, July 6, 1777. 

Turner, Robert, Lieutenant, Tenth, , 1778. 

Vance, David, Lieutenant, Second, April 20, 1776; trans- 
ferred to , June I, 1778. 

Vance, John C, Second Lieutenant, Artillery, July 19, 
1777; Lieutenant, July 8, 1779; prisoner at Charleston, 
May 12, 1780; exchanged June 14, 1781. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 6/ 

Van Duyck, John, Lieutenant, Artillery, February i, 1777. 

Varcase, James, Lieutenant, Tenth, March 17, 1778. 

Varner, Robert, Ensign, First, March 28, 1776; Second 
Lieutenant, July 7, 1776; Lieutenant, March 8, 1777; cash- 
iered October i, 1779. 

Verner, James, Lieutenant, First, May 8, 1777. 

Verrier, James, Ensign, Fifth, August 20, 1777; Lieu- 
tenant, June, 1778. 

Walker, Solomon, Lieutenant, Sixth, April 20, 1777. 

Walker, William, Lieutenant, Second, ; prisoner at 

Charleston, May 12, 1780; exchanged June 14, 1781. 

Wall, James, Lieutenant, Artillery, July 19, 1777. 

Wallace, James, Lieutenant, Tenth, November 30, 1778. 

Walters, William, Ensign, First, September 19, 1776; 
Second Lieutenant, February 5, 1777; Lieutenant, Sep- 
tember 19, 1777; transferred to cavalry, June i, 1778. 

Washington, Robert, Adjutant, Third, April 15, 1776. 

Watson, Thomas, Lieutenant, Seventh, November 28, 1776. 

Webb, John, Commissary, Third, April 23, 1776. 

Whedbee, Richard, Lieutenant, Seventh, November 28, 
1776. 

White, Matthew, Lieutenant, Sixth, , 1777. 

Whitmel, Blunt, Lieutenant, Fourth, November 20, 1776. 

Wilkinson, Reuben, Ensign, Fourth, December 9, 1776; 
Lieutenant, January 9, 1779; in Third in 1782. 

Williams, John, Lieutenant, Second, April 21, 1777; 

transferred to , June i, 1778. 

Williams, Nathaniel, Lieutenant, Tenth, January, 1782; 
in Fourth in 1782, with commission dating January 23, 
1781. 



68 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

Williams, Nathaniel B., Lieutenant, Eighth, November 
28, 1776; retired January i, 1783. 

Williams, Ralph, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Wilson, Whitfield, Quartermaster, Third, April 24, 1777. 

Womack, William, Quartermaster, First, January, 1778; 
dropped by rearrangement June i, 1778. 

Wood, Solomon, Lieutenant, Eighth, November 28, 1776. 

Worth, Joseph, Ensign, Second, October 20, 1775; Lieu- 
tenant, May 3, 1776; died April 6, 1777. 

Wright, David, Ensign, Tenth, April 19, 1777; Lieu- 
tenant, February 15, 1778 ; transferred to First, June i, 1778. 

Yancey, Charles, Lieutenant, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

ENSIGNS OR SECOND LIEUTENANTS. 

Alderson, Thomas, Ensign, Fifth, May 3, 1776. 

Bertie, Thomas, Ensign, Eighth, November 28, 1776. 
^Bickerstaff, John, Ensign, Second, June 8, 1776. 

Blanton, Rowland, Ensign, Eighth, November 28, 1776. 

Brice, Peter, Ensign, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Bryer, Benjamin, Ensign, Seventh, April 27, 1777; Sec- 
ond Lieutenant, July 15, 1777. 

Carpenter, Peter, Ensign, Eighth, November 28, 1776. 

Caustariphen, James, Ensign, Seventh, November 28, 1776. 

Cawall, Butler, Ensign, Tenth, . 

Charlton, William, Ensign, Tenth, March 14, 1779; n^or- 
tally wounded at Stono Ferry, June 10, 1779. 

Cheese, John.' Ensign, First, June 12, 1776; Second Lieu- 
tenant, January 20, 1777; resigned April i, 1777. 

Cheeseboro, John, Paymaster, July 3, 1777 ; Ensign, 
Sixth, April 25, 1779. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 69 

Childs, James, Ensign, First, September i, 1775. 

Clinch, James (also spelled Joseph), Ensign, Second, Sep- 
tember I, 1775. 

Coleman, John, Ensign, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Crawford, David, Ensign, First, June 10, 1777. 

Crawford, William, Ensign, First, January 4, 1776 ; Second 
Lieutenant, March 28, 1776; resigned August 15, 1776. 

Crenshaw, Arthur, Ensign, Second, ; prisoner at 

Charleston, May 12, 1780; exchanged June 14, 1781. 

Crutches, Henry, Ensign, Fifth, August 20, 1777. 

Curtis, Joshua, Ensign, Fourth, July i, 1777; resigned 
February i, 1778. 

Curtis, Reuben, Ensign, Second, , 1777. 

Curtis, Thomas, Ensign, Eighth, November 28, 1776. 

Dance, Ethelred, Ensign, , 1781; died February 4, 

1828. 

Daniel, Stephen, Ensign, First, January 4, 1 776 ; resigned 
June 3, 1776. 

Douglass, Robert, Third Lieutenant, Artillery, July 19, 
1776. 

Eagle, Joseph, Ensign, Fourth, January 4, 1776; resigned 
March 20, 1776. 

Erwin, John, Ensign, First, , 1777. 

Ferrall, Micajah, Ensign, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Gibson, Thomas, Ensign, Tenth, February 20, 1780; 
prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; exchanged June 14, 
1781. 

Graham, George, Ensign, First, September i, 1775 ; 
Second Lieutenant, January 4, 1776; resigned April 15, 
1776; Captain, North Carolina Rangers. 



70 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

Grant, Reuben, Ensign, Sixth, April i6, 1776. 
Grant, Thomas, Ensign, Sixth, April 16, 1776. 
Hicks, William, Ensign, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 
Irwin, John, Ensign, First, March 28, 1777; Second 
Lieutenant, April 4, 1777; resigned August 28, 1777; 
Colonel, Militia, in 1780 and 1781. 

Johnston, Joseph, Ensign, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Jones, Samuel, Ensign, Second, ; died July, 1778. 

Killeby, William Tyler, Ensign, Second, ; died April 

6, 1777. 

Lacey, John, Ensign, Second, May 20, 1779. 
Lanier (or Lenear), James, Jr., Ensign, Eighth, November 
28, 1776; resigned October 12, 1777. 

Lemmy, Joseph, Ensign, First, January 4, 1776; Second 
Lieutenant, January 18, 1776; died July, 1776. (See 
McLemmy.) 

Liscombe, John, Ensign, Sixth, April 28, 1777. 
Loomis, Abner, Ensign, Eighth, February 8, 1776; re- 
signed November 15, 1777. 

McCarthy, Florence, Ensign, Fourth, May i, 1777. 
McClammy, Joseph, Ensign, Second, October 20, 1775. 
McDouGALL, James, Cornet of Dragoons. 
McKinne, James, Ensign, Fifth, May 9, 1776. 
McKlewaine, Samuel, Second Lieutenant, Second, May, 
1776; resigned October 24, 1777. (See Mcllwaine.) 

McLemmy, Joseph, Ensign, First, January 4, 1776; 
Second Lieutenant, January 18, 1776; died July, 1776. 
(See Lemmy.) • 

McRenolds, Robert, Ensign, Tenth, April 19, 1777. 
McRory, James, Ensign, Ninth, May 2, 1777. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 7 1 

Mercer, John, Ensign, Seventh, November 28, 1776; re- 
signed November 22, 1777. 

Moore, Maurice, Jr., Ensign, First, September i, 1775; 
Second Lieutenant, January 4, 1776; killed January 18, 
1776. 

Morgan, Benjamin, Ensign, Third, , 1776. 

Mossom, Richard, Ensign, Tenth, September 4, 1778. 

Murray, William, Ensign, Fourth, April i, 1777. 

Nelson, Alexander, Ensign, Fourth, July i, 1777. 
^ Oliver, John, Ensign, Second, September i, 1775. 

Orrell, Thomas, Ensign, Tenth, March 14, 1778. 

Outlaw, Edward, Ensign, Sixth, April 16, 1776. 

Palmer, Joseph, Ensign, Fifth, June 6, 1776. 

Pearce, George, Ensign, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Picket, Thomas, Ensign, First, October 20, 1775. 

Pilley, John, Ensign, Second, December 11, 1776. 

Pugh, Whitmel, Ensign, Second, September i, 1775. 

Respess, John, Ensign, Eighth, November 28, 1776. 

Rice, Jeptha, Ensign, Ninth, March 15, 1777. 

Richardson, John, Ensign, Tenth, October i, 1777. 

Robinson, Septimus, Ensign, First, March 28, 1776; 
Second Lieutenant, July 7, 1776; resigned August 10, 1776. 

Sawyer, William, Ensign, Second, May 15, 1776. 

Shute, Thomas, Ensign, Tenth, April 19, 1777; omitted 
by arrangement of June i, 1778; died January 15, 1819. 

Singleton, Robert, Ensign, Tenth, . 

Sledge, Arthur, Ensign, Seventh, December 19, 1776. 

Smith, John, Ensign, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Sutton, James, Second Lieutenant, Second, ; re- 
signed March 10, 1778. 



72 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS 

Taylor, John, Ensign, First, September i, 1775. 

Thomas, John, Ensign, Ninth, November 28, 1776. 

Tochsey, William, Ensign, Second, May 3, 1776. 

Triplet, Charles, Ensign, First, September 19, 1776; died 
December, 1776. 

Turner, Berryman, Ensign, First, September i, 1775. 

Vipon, Henry, Ensign, Second, September i, 1775. 

Washington, William, Ensign, Ninth, August 15, 1777. 

Watters, Samuel, Ensign, First, December 24, 1776; 
Second Lieutenant, March 29, 1777; resigned April 23, 1777. 

Webb, Elisha, Ensign, Seventh, November 28, 1776. 

Whitaker, Hudson, Ensign, Seventh, December 22, 1776. 

White, William, Ensign, Seventh, April 17, 1777. 

Williams, Theophilus, Ensign, Sixth, April 2, 1777. 

Woodhouse, John, Ensign, Second, September i, 1775. 

Wooton, Shadrack, Ensign, Fifth, , 1776. 

PAYMASTERS. 

Alexander, Hezekiah, Paymaster, Fourth, April 16, 1776. 

Ashe, Samuel, Paymaster, First, September i, 1775 ; re- 
signed April 16, 1776; President of State Council of Safety, 
1776; died 1843. 

Blount, Jacob, Paymaster, State Troops, April 1 8, i yj^. 

Blount, William, Paymaster, Third, , 1777. 

Bradley, Richard, Paymaster, Third, March 5, 1777; 
retired June i, 1778. 

Duncan, Robert, Paymaster, Fourth, December i, 1777. 

Guion, Isaac, Surgeon, First, September i, 1775 ; resigned 
December, 1775 ; Paymaster, March, 1777, to July, 1778. 

Harvey, James, Paymaster, Seventh, December 11, 1776. 



OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 73 

Lord, William, Paymaster, First, December 11, 1776; 
resigned March 5, 1777. 

Moseley, William, Paymaster, Sixth, December 11, 1776. 

Pasteur, William, Surgeon, Second, September i, 1775 ; 
Paymaster, Fourth, December 12, 1776. 

Rogers, John, Jr., Paymaster, Fifth, December 11, 1776. 

Spicer, John, Paymaster, Second, December 11, 1776. 

Taylor, John, Paymaster, Eighth, July 24, 1777. 

SURGEONS AND SURGEONS' MATES. 

Alexander, Nathaniel, Surgeon, 1778 to 1782 ; died March 
8, 1808. 

Blythe, Joseph, Surgeon, First, July, 1776; prisoner at 
Charleston, May 12, 1780; exchanged June 14, 1781 ; in 
Fourth in 1782. 

Boyd, Hugh, Surgeon, Fourth, April 17, 1776. 

Brevard, Ephraim, Surgeon, First, ; prisoner at 

Charleston, May 12, 1780. 

Cooley, Samuel, Surgeon, Fifth, April 16, 1776.' 

Fergus, James, Surgeon, First, May 24, 1776; resigned 
April, 1777; also called John; spelled as Forgus, he 
appears as Surgeon's Mate, Tenth, February 21, 1782; 
Surgeon, August 20, 1782. 

Geikee, James, Surgeon, First, December, 1775 ; re- 
signed May, 1776. 

Green, James W., Surgeon's Mate, Tenth, June 10, 1778; 
Surgeon, December 7, 1779; prisoner at Charleston, May 
12, 1780; exchanged June 14, 1781 ; in First in 1782. 

Hall, Robert, Surgeon, Third, April 17, 1776. 

Hailing, Solomon, Surgeon, . 



74 REGISTER OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICERS. 

Hamilton, Hanse, Surgeon, Seventh, April, 1777. 

Helmburg, Frederick, Surgeon, First, March 13, 1778. 

Johnston, Lancelot, Surgeon, Ninth, December 22, 1776. 

Loomis, Jonathan, Surgeon, Eighth, November 26, 1776; 
prisoner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; exchanged June 14, 
1781 ; in Third in 1782. 

Love, David, Surgeon, North Carolina brigade, August 
18, 1779, to August I, 1781. 

McClure, William, Surgeon, Sixth, April 17, 1776; pris- 
oner at Charleston, May 12, 1780; exchanged June, 1781 ; 
in Second in 1782. 

Parton, William, Surgeon, Second, September i, 1775. 

Ridley, William, Surgeon, Third, April 21, 1777. 

Usher, William, Surgeon, Third, December 4, 1776; and 
of Fourth, April 24, 1777. 

Wilson, Robert, Surgeon, Sixth, June 8, 1776. 

Blackley, Ebenezer, Surgeon's Mate, Tenth, , 1778. 

Bull, Thomas, Surgeon's Mate, Tenth, 1782. 

McLane (also McClaine and Maclaine), William, Sur- 
geon's Mate, Tenth, January i, 1783 ; died October 25, 1828. 

Moore, William, Surgeon's Mate, Tenth, January 19, 1778. 

CHAPLAINS. 

Atkin, James, Chaplain, Fourth, April 5, 1777. 

Boyd, Adam, Ensign, First, January 4, 1776; Second 
Lieutenant, March 3, 1776; resigned May, 1776; Chaplain, 
Second, October i, 1777; Brigade Chaplain, August 18, 
1778, to June I, 1778; died 1800. 

Foard, Hezekiah, Chaplain, Fifth, April 20, 1777. 

Tate, James, Q^xd.'^Xzm, First, October 13, 1775; Brigade 
Chaplain, June i, 1778. 




H K 



a a 



A SKETCH 

OF THE 

NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY 

OF THE 

CINCINNATI. 



75 



PREFACE. 



In the following sketch the author does not pretend to 
originality. The nature of the subject renders it impossible. 
The history of the causes which led to the formation, as 
well as the institution itself, of the Society of the Cincinnati 
has been frequently written by abler pens than his, while 
the brief record of the North Carolina State Society has 
been already narrated by one who was a sincere lover of 
both the Order and the "old North State,"— Professor 
Edward Graham Daves. For years it had been his earnest 
wish and constant endeavor, as the grandson and represen- 
tative of Major John Daves, one of the original members 
of the North Carolina Society and himself an honored 
member of the Maryland Cincinnati, that the Society in his 
native State should be revived. But death terminated his 
labors ere their completion. His brother, Major Graham 
Daves, of New Bern, has nobly taken up the task as far as 
possible where it was relinquished, and it is sincerely hoped 
may yet, with others, be enabled to carry on the patriotic 
work to its full conclusion. 

With an earnest wish of assistance, the undersigned has 

therefore only endeavored, at the risk of repetition, to aid 

77 



^8 PREFACE. 

in such good work by narrating, for convenience, in com- 
bined form the brief history and record of this association 
of patriots as already written by those who have preceded 
him. To these latter-named, rather than to the present 
writer, is the credit due for the preservation and rescue from 
oblivion of the following data, 

H. H. Bellas. 

October 31, 1895. 



A SKETCH 



NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. 

By HENRY HOBART BELLAS, LL.B., 

CAPTAIN U. S. ARMY. 



One hundred and twelve 
years ago was one of the most 
critical, by reason of its being 
one of the most uncertain 
periods in our country's early 
career. It is true, the war of 
the Revolution had ended ; but 
with so much doubt and dis- 
trust prevailing everywhere — 
both in the rank and file of 
the American army as well as 
in all branches of civil life — 
coupled with the exhausted 
condition of the nation and its 
finances; the situation ahead was one to daunt even a 
patriot Washington. 

With that sense of possible coming danger, both to them- 
selves and their beloved country for which they had fought 

79 




8o SKETCH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA 

and suffered eight long years, the officers of the American 
army, both "to perpetuate the friendships they had formed 
in the past under the pressure of a common danger," as well 
as to aid each other in the future " by substantial acts of 
beneficence," and " to promote and cherish that union and 
honor between the States" so vitally necessary for the pres- 
ervation of the new government, united themselves, before 
their final disbandment, into a " Society of Friends" styled 
The Cincinnati, " to endure as long as they shall endure, or 
any of their male posterity, and in failure thereof, the col- 
lateral branches who may be judged worthy of becoming 
its supporters." * 

It was the final embodiment of an idea originally con- 
ceived, it is authoritatively stated, as early as the winter of 
1778, — nearly five years before the termination of the war, 
— and announced then for the first time before Washington 
and his brother-officers in a discourse by the Reverend 
William Smith, D.D., Provost of the College and Academy 
of Philadelphia, from the pulpit of old Christ Church, in that 
city,t afterwards endorsed by Baron von Steuben and other 

* See original " Institution" of the Cincinnati. 

•j- " On the feast of St. John the Evangelist's Day, December 28, 1778, the 
celebrated Dr. William Smith, at a service held in this church, at which the 
Commander-in-Chief of our armies was present, referred to him as the Cin- 
cinnatus of America, voicing then and there for the first time in public, it is 
believed, the idea that nearly five years later took shape in the organization of 
the Society of the Cincinnati." See discourse by Rt. Rev. Wm, Stevens Perry, 
D.D., LL.D., D.C.L., in Christ Church, Philadelphia, February 21, 1892. 

It has, however, it is but fair to state, been held by a recent authority that 
this reference was but an historical parallel between Washington and his 
Roman predecessor in the relinquishment of domestic duties at the call of their 




^^i/rtk^/- J^ai^^-i^ 



1732-1785- 



SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. 8 1 

leading officers of the American army, and the plan of final 
organization drawn by General Knox and others at the 
close of the war. 

One of those to sign the original " Institution" as drafted 
by the officers named was Major-General Robert Howe,* 
of Brunswick County, of the State of North Carolina, and 
whose name appears among the first of the signatures to 
the instrument. The Society, first formed in cantonment 
at Newburg, on the banks of the Hudson River, in May, 
1783, and perfected during the following month, was grad- 
ually extended during the same year through the different 
States to the southward, in accordance with the recom- 
mendation made at the formation of the Society, and by 
the close of the year Societies were in existence in all of the 
thirteen States. 

country, rather than enunciating the idea of the formation of a yet inchoate 
Society by those who at the close of the war followed the example of Cincin- 
natus by retirement to their private citizenship after the deliverance of their 
country. 

* General Robert Howe was born in Brunswick County, North Carolina, in 
1732, and died there, November 12, 1785. Returning from England in 1766, 
he was appointed captain under commission of Governor Tiyon, and baron of 
the exchequer. He was a member of the Assembly in 1772-73, delegate to 
Colonial Congress of 1774, and chairman of committee to which the speech of 
the loyal Governor Martin was referred. His services in the Revolution are 
a matter of well-known history. He was one of the most uncompromising of 
the patriots of the Cape Fear region, for we find him honored by being ex- 
cepted from the offer of pardon to "the rebels" by Sir Henry Clinton in 
1776. He served to the close of the war, and was afterwards (1785) appointed 
by Congress to treat with the western Indians. On his return to North Caro- 
lina he was received with public honors and elected to the Legislature, but 
died soon after, 

6 



82 SKETCH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA 

The North Carolina Society was one of the last to take 
definite shape, being organized at Hillsborough, in that 
State, in the latter part of the month of October, with 
Brigadier-General Jethro Sumner,* of Warren County, as 
its first president, and Reverend Adam Boyd,t of Wilming- 
ton, as secretary, with sixty-one members, or (as we find 
by comparison) \ over one-half of the entire number of" offi- 
cers of the late war who continued to the end thereof or 
were deranged by Acts of Congress." 

There is probably no military or other Order which 

* General Sumner was a native of Virginia, and as early as 1760 was ap- 
pointed a pajmiaster in the provincial forces of that State and commander of 
Fort Cumberland. In 1776 he resided in North Carolina, was appointed colo- 
nel of a regiment of Continental troops, and joined the Northern army, under 
the command of Washington. He was promoted brigadier-general in 1779, 
and served under Gates and Greene in the Southern campaign. He died in 
Warren County, North Carolina, 1785, and was buried near old Shocco Chapel 
and Bute Court-House. The following inscription is upon his tombstone : 
"To the memory of General Jethro Sumner, one of the heroes of '76." 
(See Wheeler's " History of North Carolina," p. 425.) 

General Sumner's sword is deposited in the Tennessee Historical Society at 
Nashville. 

f Rev. Adam Boyd was an ardent patriot from the beginning of the Revo- 
lution, and was an active member of the Wilmington (North Carolina) Com- 
mittee of Safety. He established and published the Cape Fear Mercury in 
October, 1767. This was the paper that printed the celebrated Mecklenburg 
Declaration of Independence of May 20, 1775, and caused the royal Governor 
of North Carolina (Governor Martin) to issue his proclamation of August 8, 
1775, against the " most infamous publication." See North Carolina Uni- 
versity Magazine, May, 1895. Chaplain Boyd removed to Natchez, Mississippi, 
about 1787, where he died in 1800. 

\ See Washington Correspondence, " Archives of Department of State, 
Washington, D. C," Book llS.pp. 142^, 143. 



SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. 83 

originated in more historic surroundings or with more 
patriotic purposes. Created to strengthen and perpetuate 
the ties formed in service on many a field of battle for their 
country's cause, as well as to provide a fund for the in- 
digent and needy in after years, not only among themselves, 
but for their widows and orphans ; its very disinterestedness 
and honesty of intention served, as has so often since been 
the case in the history of our country, to excite all the poHti- 
cal passion, bitter hostility, and calumny of demagogism 
which at that period swept the land. The very insignia of 
the Order — a golden eagle, emblematic of their country, — 
together with their modest motto, Omnia relinquit servare 
rempublicam, as an evidence of their self-denial, were cited 
by those hostile to the Society as proofs of the danger to 
the new government from these self-created aristocrats, 
as they were styled by their enemies. The principle of pri- 
mogeniture was probably the most obnoxious of all the 
features of the Society to the people at large. 

The disbandment of the armies, both in the North and 
South, and the consequent scattering of the officers belong- 
ing to the same, necessitated the division of the Society into 
" State Meetings" for each State, which were to be held an- 
nually, while the general body, comprising its general offi- 
cers and delegates from each State, met triennially for 
consultation.* 

* General John Cochrane, President of the New York State Society of the 
Cincinnati, has in a recent publication shown very clearly the difference be- 
tween the original powers of the State Societies and the (so-styled) General 
Society, as well as proving conclusively that the former really constitute the 
Society of the Cincinnati, in accordance with the intention of the original " In- 



84 SKETCH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA 

Each officer contributed one month's pay* to the forma- 
tion of a permanent fund in each State Society, the interest 
alone of which was available for the purposes already 
indicated. 

Claim to membership in the Society originally belonged 
only to " all the officers of the American army, as well 
those who have resigned with honor after three years' ser- 
vice in the capacity of officers, or who have been deranged by 
the resolutions of Congress, upon the several reforms of the 
Army, as those who shall have continued to the end of the 
war," ..." and as a testimony of affection to the memory 
and the offspring of such officers as have died in the service, 
their eldest male branches shall have the same right of be- 
coming members as the children of the actual members of 
the Society." Honorary members, eminent for their abilities 
and patriotism, were also provided for in the different State 
Societies, in a ratio not exceeding one to every four heredi- 
tary members. Officers who had served in the Continental 
navy, as well as such officers of State Troops (not Militia) 
as had served in time and manner indicated, were afterwards 

stitution," rather than the triennial General Meeting of the representatives 
from the State Societies, as has been claimed. See second letter of General 
John Cochrane to the New York Cincinnati, 1895. 

* This month's pay was estimated as follows: Army: Major-Generals, 
|i8o and ;S5l66, respectively. Brigadier-Generals, ^125. Colonels and Lieu- 
tenant-Colonels commanding Artillery, ^100; Cavalry, $93.67 ; Infantry, ^^7 5. 
Lieutenant-Colonels, $60. Majors, Artillery and Cavalry, $62.45 '■> Infantry, 
$50. Captains, Artillery and Cavalry, $50 ; Infantry, $40. Captain-Lieu- 
tenants and Lieutenants, Artillery, $33.30 ; Infantry, $26.60. Chaplains, $75. 
Surgeons, $59. Surgeons' Mates, $46. [With some variations.] 

Navy : Captains, $60. Lieutenants, $30. 



SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. 85 

recognized by resolution of the General Society, in its first 
meeting, as also eligible to membership in the Society.* 

Such were the principal characteristics of the Society of 
the Cincinnati as originally organized. At this day and in 
this generation it is difficult, if not impossible, for us to 
realize the hostility it aroused in the minds of the hostile, 
the evil-disposed, and the ignorant. Forgetful altogether of 
the character and the services of the men composing the 
Order, — the very men who had saved the nation and created 
a new government, and who, of all others, should have been 
free from suspicion or criticism, — a bitter attack was made 
upon it in almost every State in the Union ; an attack led, 
as is always the case, by those who for personal motives or 
for political gain hoped to reap advantage thereby. 

" Few occurrences of so little comparative importance 
have ever given rise to so much excitement as the establish- 
ment of the Cincinnati," says Johnson in his life of pen- 
eral Greene.f ..." The hereditary principle and the badge, 
the alleged mimicry of royal orders, were the avowed object 
of the attack ; but there can be but little doubt that the 
excluding rule, which shut all the rest of the world out of 
the Society, except commissioned officers of the United 
States, was the real object of offence." ..." The exclusive 
principle was the great ground of complaint. That the 
hereditary principle or even the bauble at the button-hole 
were not the real cause of alarm, has since been satisfactorily 



* See Proceedings of General Society of the Cincinnati, Philadelphia, 1784. 
I " Sketches of the Life and Correspondence of Major-General Nathaniel 
Greene," by William Johnson, Charleston, S. C, 1822, vol. ii., pp. 409-11. 



86 SKETCH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA 

established, for the one was never relinquished (as sug- 
gested), and the other has been silently resumed without 
giving any alarm or doing the least sensible injury." . . . 
" The people have since had the good sense to find out 
that they have the same right to form Societies and exclude, 
if they will, the Cincinnati from them ; aye, and to wear 
badges and assert the honors of hereditary perpetuation, and 
they now bestow an unfeigned tribute of respect on the 
hoary heads of the few venerable survivors of the Revolu- 
tionary officers. When they shall have passed away, it is 
easy to foresee what will be the fate of the Society." (?)... 

The writer himself believed " it was an injudicious and 
injurious measure calculated to offend the popular side !" * 

And Moore, in his " History of North Carolina," states that 
" in the grave and important issues before the people of the 
State, there was unfortunately a struggle evolved between 
the lawyers and those who had filled important military 
commands in the army. There were, as a general rule, 
strenuous efforts made against the return of the Tories, and 
that popular prejudice was used as a lever to oust the influ- 
ence of some who had largely directed public opinion 
during the war.f The organization of the Society of the 

* " Sketches of the Life and Correspondence of Major-General Nathaniel 
Greene," by William Johnson, S. C, 1822, vol. ii., p. 411. 

f Surgeon James Tilton, President of the Delaware State Society of the Cin- 
cinnati, had stated in the General Meeting of the Society in 1784, in response 
to the request of Washington, the President-General, to declare the ideas 
prevalent in the respective States regarding the " Institution," " that the prin- 
cipal and indeed the only enemies of the Cincinnati in his State (Delaware) 
■were among the class of people denominated Tories." See Proceedings 




GRIFFITH JOHN McREE. 

1758-1801. 



SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. 8/ 

Cincinnati by the late officers was viewed by many with 
distrust as to its aims.". . . " The Federal distresses were 
incessant and increasing. To the wise and good men of 
that day, the future was full of painful uncertainty. The 
grand opportunities of America, seemed to be fading from 
the possibility of achievement by reason of divided councils, 
ignoble jealousies, and the insane selfishness of the in- 
dividual States. Suspicion and detraction poisoned the 
public mind with unceasing calumnies. The Order of the 
Cincinnati was at best only a social brotherhood, but was 
denounced as a conspiracy against the people's liberties, and 
the very authors of American liberty were held up to scorn, 
as conspirators against the best interests of the nation. 

" The ' Patriotic Society'* was a rival organization which 
sprung up in that day and became in effect greatly similar 
to the movement under Governor Tryon, known as the 
Regulation. 

" In North Carolina but httle permanent interest was taken 
in either of these organizations, which were soon to sink 
from public observation." f 

Washington, in order to placate the democratic opposi- 
tion then prevalent, suggested at the first General Meeting 
of the Society in 1784 that the original "Institution" "be 

of General Society in Winthrop Sargent's " Journal of Cincinnati General 
Meeting, 1784." " Penna. Hist. Soc. Pub.," vol. vi., p. 80. 

* For account of the " Patriotic Society" Constitution, see " History Dela- 
ware State Society of Cincinnati," by Captain H. H. Bellas, Wilmington, 
Delaware, 1895 (" Delaware Historical Society's Publications," No. xiii., pp. 

34, 35)- 
t See Moore's " History North Carolina," pp. 357-369. 



88 SKETCH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA 

amended by abolishing the principle of hereditary succes- 
sion ; that all interference with political subjects should be 
done away, and that the funds should be placed under the 
immediate cognizance of the several State legislatures, who 
should also be requested to grant charters for more effect- 
ually carrying our humane designs into execution." * 
Happily, these proposed amendments to the " Institution" 
as originally adopted, were never fully carried out by all 
the States, and the principle of hereditary succession still 
remains in full force to-day.f 

In an official letter to General Knox, the Secretary- 
General, from the Rev. Adam Boyd, Secretary of the North 
Carolina Society, and dated Wilmington, North Carolina, 
December 29, 1783, announcement is made of the formation 
of the North Carolina State organization. A similar letter 
by General Jethro Sumner (the President) to Major-General 
Baron de Steuben, dated Halifax, North Carolina, October 
28, 1783, together with one of the same date by the Secre- 
tary, is also on file with the former letter in the archives of 
the General Society.^ 

As these are the earliest appearing evidences of the 
existence of this honored Society in the " old North State," 
it may be of interest as well as value to give their contents 
entire. General Sumner's letter, being of the earlier date 
of the two, is first given, and is as follows : 

* See Circular Letter of General Society in Proceedings of General Meeting 
of the Cincinnati, Philadelphia, 1784. 

f See Report of Committee on " Institution," Proceedings of General So- 
ciety of Cincinnati, Philadelphia, 1800. 

\ See Proceedings of General Society of Cincinnati, Philadelphia, 1784. 



SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. 89 

" Halifax, N. Carolina, 28th. October, 1783. 

" Sir : — At the request of the officers of the Line of this State, I do myself 
the honour to return you their thanks & my own for your favour, covering a 
letter from his Excellency the Chevalier De la Luzerne, and other papers. 
The officers being highly pleased with the Institution, will most chearfuUy 
concur in any measures that shall be adopted for promoting its benevolent 
designs. Not to support such an Institution betrays, in their opinion, a want 
of public virtue. 

" It appears to be the sense of the Societies to the Southward, that the first 
general meeting should be held at Fredericksburg, in Virginia.* That place, 

* The suggestion in both this and the following letter of the Secretary of the 
Society that the first general meeting should be held in Fredericksburg, Vir- 
ginia, did not evidently meet the approval of the President-General, as appears 
from a letter from him to General Sumner in the beginning of the following 
year. This letter, the original of which has been presented by the Honorable 
David Schenck to the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association of North 

Carolina, reads as follows : 

" Mount Vernon, Jany 5th, 1784. 

" Sir : — After taking all the various circumstances into mature consideration, 
I have thought proper to appoint the City of Philadelphia to be the place for 
the general meeting of the Society of the Cincinnati on the first Monday in 
May next, agreeably to the original Institution. The object of this letter is to 
communicate timely information thereof, that proper notice may be given 
to the Delegates of your State Society, whose punctual attendance will be 
expected at the time and place before mentioned. 

" Having made this communication, I have only to suggest that it may 
perhaps be preferable to give the necessary notice to your Delegates by letter 
rather than by a public notification; I would, however wish that whatever 
mode is adopted, measures may be taken to prevent a possibility of failure in 
the communication. .. j ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^ 

"Sir 
« Your Ob't Hum. Serv't, 

Go. Washington. 
" P. S. Be pleased to acknowledge the receipt of this letter. 
" Brigadier General Simmer, 

" North Carolina." 



90 SKETCH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA 

it is tho't, is nearly centrical, and most convenient for the President-General. 
The compliance of the Northern Societies in this, will give us very great 
pleasure. 

" I shall always be extremely glad to hear from & to correspond with you, 
and have the honour to be, with great respect, 

" Your most obedient & very humble servant, 



J^i'/k^^f^iu/rhf 0^£/jh^ 



" Brig- Gen' I and President, 
" Hon. Major-General Baron De Steuben." 



The Secretary's letter, the first mentioned, is to the 
following effect : 

"Wilmington, Cape Fear, 29th. Dec'r., 1783. 
"Sir:— 

" In October a few officers of this State met at Hillsborough & laid the 
foundation of a society upon the plan of the Cincinnati. Among other things 
they resolved that the president should acquaint the Secretary-General with 
their desire, that the first general meeting should be held at Fredericksburg, 
in Virginia. That place is tho't to be nearly centrical and more convenient 
than any other for the President-General. This last was most decisive with 
them. 

" The president having been obliged to go home before any letters could 
have been written, I was desired to write to you on the subject. This I did 
upon the spot, & gave my letter to a gentleman coming directly here. Since 
my return to this place I find that letter was lost, and not knowing that Gen- 
eral Sumner has had an opportunity of conveying one to you, I again address 
you, lest the wishes of the N. Carolina Society should not reach you in proper 
time, and I should incur their censure, tho' very undeservedly. 

" A pamphlet said to be the production of a judge Burke in So. Carolina, 
has created opponents to the Cincinnati. It has been in this town, but I have 
not yet got a sight of it. His objections, I am told, are founded upon a sur- 
mise that the Cincinnati mean to establish a numerous peerage in direct con- 



SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. 9 1 

tradiction to the federal union of the States. This he has tortured out of the 
* hereditary succession.' The whole appears to me altogether chimerical : 
but there are swarms of Butterfly- statesmen & patriots, who flutter and strutt 
in the sunshine of safety & peace. These things affect to be lynx-eyed, and 
however groundless their cries may be, yet being generally of a popular tone, 
they are received ' as proofs from holy writ.' 

" Terrible things have been threatened against us, & I do expect our As- 
sembly, in their April sessions, will be moved to suppress the Society. At 
that time we have a meeting, and if you can furnish anything to strengthen 
our hands, you will render us a very acceptable service. 

" As our President lives near 200 miles from a sea- port town or post-office, 
letters for him had better be sent here. I am about to change my place of 
residence, but if I do leave this, our vice-president (General Clark) and sev- 
eral officers will be here & take care of such letters. 

" I have the honour to be, with much respect, 

" Your very humble and most obedient servant, 



Sec'y. 




" P. S. — I would most gladly correspond with the secretary of your State 
Society. If you will please tell him so, you will do me a favour. My 
address is Rev'd A. B., Wilmington, Cape Fear. This is the South part of 
No. Carolina, & vessels from Boston often come here. If I remove, my 
address will not be changed. 

"Honourable General Knox." 



No list of members is given, as transmitted with either of 
the foregoing letters, and the list furnished by the Secretary 
to the Maryland Society, over a year later, is, he states, still 
incomplete.* The complete roll, however, at this time, taken 
from the records in the possession of the General Society, 
and arranged according to rank, appears as follows : 

* See letter to General Otho H. Williams, of May 20, 1785, page 95. 



92 SKETCH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA 

Major-General Robert Howe. 

Brigadier-General Jethro Sumner. 

Colonel and Brevet Brigadier-General Thomas Clark. 

Colonel Archibald Lytle. 

Lieutenant-Colonel John Baptista Ashe. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Hardee Murfree. 

Major and Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Hogg. 

MAJORS. 

Griffith John McRee. Reading Blount. 

George Doherty. William Polk. 

CAPTAIN AND BREVET MAJORS. 

Thomas Armstrong. Kedar Ballard. 

Benjamin Coleman. Robert Fenner. 

Clement Hall. Robert Raiford. 

James Read. Joseph T. Rhodes. 

Anthony Sharpe. Howell Tatum. 

CAPTAINS. 

Samuel Ashe, Jr. Peter Bacot. 

Gee Bradley. Alexander Brevard. 

Thomas Callender. v.— John Daves. 

Samuel Denny. Joshua Hadley. 

William Lytle. Joseph Montfort. 

John Slaughter. William Williams. 
Edward Yarborough. 

LIEUTENANT AND BREVET CAPTAIN. 

James Campen. 



SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. 93 

LIEUTENANTS. 

William Alexander. Robert Bell. 

Joseph Brevard. William Bush. 

John Campbell. Thomas Clarke. 

Wynne Dixon. Richard Fenner. 

Thomas Finney. John Ford. 

Charles Gerard. Francis Graves. 

Robert Hayes. John Hill. 

Hardy Holmes. Curtis Ivey. 

Abner Lamb. James Moore. 

Thomas Pasteur. William Saunders. 

Jesse Steed. <■ - 
Cornet James McDougall. 
Deputy Paymaster-General Jacob Blount. 
Surgeon's Mate James Fergus. 
Surgeon's Mate William McLane. 
Brigade Chaplain Reverend Adam Boyd. 

But while the officers of the North Carolina regiments 
were, on the authority of General Sumner, " highly pleased 
with the Institution and most cheerfully concurred in any 
measures that should be adopted for promoting its benevo- 
lent designs," the Society met in this, as in other States, with 
decided opposition from the Legislature. At a meeting of 
the Society held in Fayetteville on July 4, 1784, the Secre- 
tary was ordered to address a circular letter to the other 
State societies. This communication shows the attitude of 
the State Assembly towards the organization, as well as re- 
porting the action of the Society on the amendments which 
had been proposed to the Institution to disarm hostility, at 



94 SKETCH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA 

the first General Meeting in Philadelphia, in May of that 
year, and already alluded to. 

The letter is on file in the archives of both the Maryland 
and Massachusetts Cincinnati Societies : 

" Cape Fear, No. Carolina, loth Jan'y, 1785. 
" Sir : 

" I am ordered by the Cincinnati of this State to acquaint you that, in con- 
sequence of a former adjournment, we had a meeting at Fayette Ville on the 
4th of July (1784), when the circular letter, with the Institution as altered and 
amended, was read and highly approved. 

" The meeting then proceeded to frame their bye-Laws and to make such 
regulations as they tho't might promote the friendly and benevolent intentions 
of the Society. 

" We had hopes that the Assembly would take our funds under their direc- 
tion and aid the general design ; but tho' the ablest members of both Houses 
were on our side, yet the majority was against us. 

" Waiting the event of this application, I deferred writing and am truly 
sorry I cannot give a more agreeable account of it. Yet this disappointment 
will not affect the zeal of our members, and we flatter ourselves the opposition 
will soon die. 

" It is the earnest wish of this meeting to hold correspondence with the dif- 
ferent State meetings. This, it is tho't, might be of general advantage and 
contribute to that harmony which is the soul of the Society. 
" I am with much respect, 

" Yr. most obedient servant, 

" Adam Boyd, Sec. 
" Secretary to the Cincinnati in Maryland." 

These by-laws, together with an incomplete roll of the 
J names of the mem- 

CLif^ ^^^ bers of the Society, 

_ were inclosed in a 

"■'■~— ■ second letter a few 

months later (dated May 20, 1785), addressed to General 
Otho H. Williams, of the Maryland Cincinnati. 



SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. 95 

The letter reads as follows : 

"New Berne, No. Carolina, 20th. May, 1785. 

" Sir : — In obedience to orders, you will herewith receive a copy of the 
bye- laws of this State meeting; and I was likewise ordered to send a copy of 
the Institution, with the names of our members, on parchment. But the gen- 
tleman appointed for that purpose has not sent me the parchment, neither is 
the roll of names by any means compleat. At our annual meeting I hope 
these and some other things will be better regulated. 

" I beg, Sir, you will excuse the liberty I have taken in troubling you with 
the enclosed letters. My reason for taking it was, I knew not the name of an 
officer near a sea-port in your State or Virginia, whither I beg the sealed one 
may be sent. It is a transcript of that designed for the Secretary of the 
Maryland meeting. 

" I have the honor to be, with the utmost respect, 

" Your obedient and most humble servant, 

"Adam Boyd. 

" Honblb Genl. Williams, Maryland," 

The by-laws enclosed number seventeen articles and are 
of the usual nature of rules for the government of such an 
organization. One rule (the fourth) was particularly worthy 
of imitation, however, providing that copies of all letters and 
essays should be recorded by the Secretary, the originals of 
which must likewise be filed. All proceedings of the So- 
ciety were directed to be kept in duplicate^ one of the books 
of record being kept by the Secretary and the other lodged 
with the President, being carefully revised and compared 
with each other at every meeting, to prevent error,* 

But how fruitless even all these precautions were for the 
preservation of the history of this patriotic organization, we 
shall see later on. 

* See post, pages 97, 98. 



96 SKETCH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA 

The Society was represented, it would appear, at the 
meetings of the General Society but three times — in 1784, 
1787, and 1790. The delegates to the first General Meeting 
were Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Lytle, Major Reading 
Blount, and Major Griffith John McRee. They were 
elected at a meeting of the State society held at Hills- 
borough in the month previous (April), and their certificate 
of appointment, which is still preserved, has been stated — 
erroneously, however — to be " the only known evidence in 
existence that there was a Society of the Cincinnati in 
North Carolina." 

The certificate is as follows : 

"North Carolina, Hillsborough, April 18, 1784. 

" Lieutenant-Colonel Com't. Lytle, Major Blount and Major McRee are 
delegated to represent the State Society of the Cincinnati in the general con- 
vention to be held in Philadelphia on the first Monday in May next. 

" Attested : Jethro Sumner, Pres't. 

" C. IvEY, Stc'y pro tem?^ 

Of the three above-named delegates. Majors Blount * and 
McRee attended the meeting of the General Society, the 
published proceedings of which show that the first-named 
officer was one of a committee appointed to amend and 
revise the " Institution" of the Society.f This proposed 

* Major Reading Blount was born circa l756-'8, and died October 13, 1807, 
He was a son of Jacob Blount, member of the provincial assemblies of 
1 75 5-' 6, and descended from Thomas Blount, of Edgecombe County, N. C, 
and Elizabeth Reading, his wife. Major Blount had several brothers, 
"William, Thomas, and John Gray, all distinguished in political life after the 
Revolution in North Carolina and Tennessee. For history of the Blount 
family, see Wheeler's " Reminiscences and Memoirs," pp. i30-'i. 

-j- See Proceedings of General Society of Cincinnati, Philadelphia, 1 784. 



SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. 97 

amended constitution was, as is well known, never carried 
into effect, failing of ratification by a majority of the differ- 
ent State societies ; North Carolina, however, being one of 
the States which did so approve it. 

The place of meeting of the Society on July 4, 1785, 
appears to have been again at Fayetteville, at which meeting 
the rules and regulations for governing the State meeting 
were again reported, evidently revised and completed. 

As these by-laws may be of interest to members of the 
Cincinnati or their descendants to-day, not only in North 
Carolina, but elsewhere, we present them entire, at the risk 
of tediousness. 

Fayetteville, North Carolina, July nth, 1785. 
Rules and Regulations for Governing this State Meeting. 

I. The first business of the anniversary meeting shall be the election of a 
President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and a representation to the 
Society for the ensuing year. Three members shall be appointed Judges of 
the election, and any two of said Judges agreeing, shall declare those having 
a majority duly elected; and in case of an equality of ballots, the decision 
shall be by lot. 

II. All elections shall be by ballot. 

III. The President is, at all meetings, to regulate the decision of everything 
that may be proposed ; to state and put questions, agreeably to the sense and 
intention of the members. He is also empowered whenever he shall think it 
necessary, to call an extraordinary meeting, on giving sixty days' previous 
notice by circular letters to the members in each district, and in any occasional 
absence of the President and Vice-President, the members present shall 
appoint to the chair one of their number, who, whilst there, shall possess all 
the power of a President. 

IV. The Secretary shall take the minutes of the proceedings of each meet- 
ing and produce them, fairly transcribed in a book, to the next meeting. In 
this book shall also be entered all such letters and Essays addressed to them 
or the Society as they may think worth recording, the Originals of which 

7 



98 SKETCH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA 

must likewise be filed : and the more effectually to guard against accidents, 
which may endanger the records, the proceedings shall be copied into two 
books; for one of which the Secretary shall be answerable, and the other 
shall be lodged with the President, and in Order to prevent errors, those books 
of record shall be carefully revised and compared at every meeting. 

V. The Treasurer shall receive the subscriptions and donations of members, 
and others, agreeably to the Institution and under the direction of the meet- 
ing, shall manage their fund, and transact all their monied matters. He shall 
also lay before every annual meeting, a true state of the stock, interest, and 
other monies belonging to them, and disbursements made by their Orders ; and 
he shall deliver to his successor the books and all papers belonging to his 
Office, together with all monies remaining in his hands. And for the faithful 
discharge of his trust, the said Treasurer, before he enters on the Duties of 
his Office, shall give bond and security to the President and Vice-President, on 
behalf of the meeting, in the sum of five thousand pounds. 

VI. At every annual meeting any number of members shall be competent 
to the business of the meeting, consistant with the rules of the Society. 

VII. The transactions of extraordinary meetings shall be binding, until the 
next annual meeting, which shall have the power to confirm or abolish their 
proceedings. 

VIII. In conducting the business of the meeting, no question shall be put 
on a motion, unless it be seconded. When any member speaks, he shall ad- 
dress himself to the Chair; and no member without permission shall speak 
more than twice on the same subject. 

IX. No part of the Interest arising from the principal fund, and other 
monies in the disposal of the meeting, shall be ordered in payment for chari- 
table or other purposes, without the consent of two-thirds of the members 
present. Each member shall report to the annual meeting such objects of 
charity as may come within his notice ; and agreeably to circumstances, the 
meeting shall grant orders for such sums of money as shall be judged neces- 
sary, and consistant with the state of finances. 

X. It shall be the duty of any member elected to an Office in the meeting 
or Society, to Officiate agreeably to the appointment. 

XI. All questions which are not determined by some express Rule, shall 
be decided by the Voice of a majority of the members present. 

XII. Any member who shall fail to attend the aimual meeting, shall pay 



SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. 99 

to the Treasurer the sum of five pounds currency, for the use of the meeting, 
unless his excuse be admitted by a majority of members present. 

XIII. The expence of deligation to the Society, and all other necessary 
expenditures, shall be an equal contribution of the members of the meeting. 

XIV. No member shall absent himself without permission from the Ser- 
vice of the meeting. 

XV. No member shall be expelled the Society, but by consent of two- 
thirds of the members present at the annual meeting. 

XVI. Should the meeting be reduced to the disagreeable necessity of ex- 
pelling a member, the motive shall be entered at large on the minutes ; and 
as soon as possible, notice shall be given to the Society by the President, who 
shall also by circular letter inform the different meetings thereof, specifying his 
name and situation, previous to his becoming a member. 

XVII. These rules and regulations to be subject to any alterations or 
amendments at an annual meeting, two-thirds of the members agreeing 
thereto. 

(Copy.) Adam Boyd, Secy. 

For the following year (1786), the annual stated meeting 
of the Society was held at Halifax " agreeable to their ad- 
journment from Fayetteville" the preceding year. This 
meeting is the only one in the brief history of the Society, 
of which any account exists, as far as known at present, in 
the newspapers of the day. A copy of the Pennsylvania 
Packet and Daily Advertiser of August 12, 1786, preserved 
in the archives of the New Jersey State Society, contains a 
report of the meeting of the North Carolina Society on 
July 4th. Neither the names, however, of officers elected 
nor of any members of the Society are mentioned. 

The account reads as follows : 

" Halifax, N. Carolina, July 8th. (1786.) 
" The State Meeting of the Cincinnati was held here on the 4th, agreeable 
to their adjournment from Fayetteville ; the festivity of this auspicious day 



lOO SKETCH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA 

commenced by a suitable discharge of artillery about li o'clock. A large 
number of gentlemen from the town and different parts of the State met the 
Society at Mr. Barkdale's tavern, where an elegant dinner was prepared by 
the direction of their stewards. After dinner the following toasts were drunk, 
accompanied by separate discharges of cannon and animated with the most 
rational mirth and patriotic enthusiasm : 

1. The Memorable 4th July, 1776, 

2. The United States of America. 

3. The late American Army and Navy. 

4. The Fleet and Armies of France who have served in America, 

5. His Most Christian Majesty. 

6. His Excellency General Washington. 

7. May America be grateful to her Patriotic Children ! 

8. The Memory of the Brave Patriots who have fallen in defence of 
America. 

9. May Virtue support what Courage has gained ! 

10. The Vindicators of the Rights of Mankind in every quarter of the 
Globe. 

1 1 . May America be an Asylum to the Persecuted of the Earth ! 

12. May a close Union of the States guard the Temple they have erected 
to Liberty ! 

13. May the Remembrance of this Day be a Lesson to Princes! 

The afternoon was spent in the utmost conviviality, enlivened with a num- 
ber of gay and political songs and toasts. In the evening the Society gave a 
ball, which was honoured with a numerous and splendid attendance of the 
ladies." 

On the decease of the President, General Sumner, in the 
month of March of the preceding year (1785), Lieutenant- 
Colonel John Baptista Ashe,* of New Hanover County, had 

* Lieutenant-Colonel John Baptista Ashe was the son of Samuel Ashe, Chief 
Justice and Governor of North Carolina, and the nephew of General John Ashe, 
distinguished in the Revolution. Colonel John Baptista Ashe was bom in 
Rocky Point, North Carolina, 1748, and served continuously through the war, 
especially distinguishing himself at the battle of Eutaw. He was afterwards a 




^cr^Cr^. fjojctul CCiAx^ 



1748-1S02. 



SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. lOI 

been chosen to fill the vacancy. Major Howell Tatum was 
elected Secretary to succeed Rev. Adam Boyd a couple 
of years later (1787), and Major Robert Fenner as Treasurer. 
This last-named officer was the sole representative of the 
Society at the second triennial meeting of the General 
Society at Philadelphia in the latter year, the other two 
delegates, Colonel William Polk* and Major Reading 
Blount, failing to attend.f 

Again, at the third General Meeting of the Society in 
1790, the only representative present from North Carolina 
was Colonel Benjamin Hawkins,J of Warren County. The 
records of that meeting report him as acting on a committee 

member of the House of Commons of North Carolina (1786), and also of the 
State Senate (1789 and 1795), a delegate to the last Continental Congress 
(1787-88), and member of the First and Second Congress (1789-93). In 1802 
he was elected Governor of North Carolina, but died before his inauguration. 
See Memoir of Ashe family, note, page 5, of " History North Carolina Troops 
of the Continental Army," by Brevet Major Charles L. Davis, U.S.A. 

* Lieutenant-Colonel William Polk, who was Major of the Ninth Regiment 
of North Carolina Continental Infantry, was the son of Colonel Thomas Polk, 
of Mecklenburg, North Carolina, and was bom in the county of Mecklenburg, 
1759. He was present at the celebrated Convention held there in May, 1775. 
Entering the army the following year, he served gallantly through the war, 
being wounded at both Germantown and Eutaw. At the close he returned to 
Charlotte, and in 1787 represented his county in the North Carolina Legislature. 
He afterwards removed to Raleigh, where he resided until his death, January 
4, 1834. In 1812, President Madison offered him a brigadier-general's com- 
mission, which he declined. Colonel Polk was not only the last surviving 
member of the North Carolina Society of the Cincinnati, but was also the last 
surviving field-officer of the North Carolina line in the Revolution. 

f See Proceedings of General Society of Cincinnati, Philadelphia, 1787. 

\ Colonel Benjamin Hawkins was bom in Warren County, North Carolina, 
August 15, 1754, and was a student in Princeton College, New Jersey, when 



I02 SKETCH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA 

appointed to prepare an address to General Washington, 
the President-General of the Society, congratulating him 
" on being unanimously elected the head of our rising re- 
public," as well as informing him of his re-election as Presi- 
dent of the Society for the ensuing three years. A circular- 
letter was prepared by the same committee and forwarded 
to the different State Societies " on the situation and prospect 
of the affairs of the United States." * 

After this last date no delegates from North Carolina 
were ever present at the General Meetings, nor, so far as is 
now known, were there any meetings of the State Society ; 
certainly there is no record of such, nor even of the exist- 
ence of the Society. No reference, with one exception, is 
ever made to it in the report of the successive committees 
appointed by the General Society to inquire into the 
" present situation of the different State Societies," and to 
urge those already dormant or dissolved to " a renewal of 
their intercourse" with the General Society. The exception 
alluded to was by the committee appointed to examine 

the Revolution began. His proficiency in French caused General Washington 
to appoint him interpreter between the American and French officers on his 
staff. In 1780 he was commissioned to procure ammunition and arms in the 
West Indies. He was elected to Congress by the North Carolina Legislature 
in 1782, and in 1785 was appointed to treat with the Cherokee and Creek 
Indians. He was re-elected to Congress in 1786, and in 1789 became one of 
the first two United States Senators from North Carolina. He was appointed 
in 1797 agent for " superintending all Indians south of the Ohio." He tendered 
his resignation to each successive President from Washington to Madison, but 
it was always refused. The city of Hawkinsville, Georgia, where he died June 
6, 181 6, was named in his honor. 

* See Proceedings of General Society of Cincinnati, Philadelphia, 1790. 



SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. IO3 

documents, etc., in the possession of officers of the Society, 
with a view to the publication of such facts as may be of 
interest, which, at the General Meeting in 1857, after report- 
ing that, " with few exceptions, even the rolls of the several 
State Societies have disappeared from the archives of the 
General Society, and such as remain are not wholly to be 
depended on as accurate," stated in regard to this particular 
Society under consideration as follows : 

" Very diligent inquiry has been made for the North Carolina records, but 
without avail and without encouragement to hope for final success." * 

The finding of the papers of Major Tatum,t the last- 
known secretary of the Society, might throw some light on 
this and kindred matters regarding the length of its exist- 
ence and its proceedings. 

When and under what circumstances did the Society 
become dormant? for it cannot justly, from the nature of 
its institution, be said to have ceased to exist,| 

* See Proceedings of General Society of Cincinnati, Boston, Massachusetts, 
1857. 

f Major Howell Tatum subsequently removed to Tennessee ; was Treasurer 
of the Western District of that State, 1794-96; Attorney-General of same, 
1796-97; Supreme Court Judge, May 12, 1797, to September 20, 1798, and 
was afterwards {circa 1807) one of the Commissioners to adjust the land claims 
between Tennessee and North Carolina. His descendants are residents of 
Tennessee to-day, families of the same name being found in Giles and other 
counties of the State. 

\ It is held by a reliable authority already cited — General John Cochrane, 
President of the New York State Society of the Cincinnati — that a State So- 
ciety of the Cincinnati cannot be dissolved. By the original *' Institution" it 
was " to endure as long as we shall endure" and " is to be perpetuated in our 
descendants." 



104 SKETCH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA 

What became of its original fund, which, as has been 
already shown, the State Legislature refused to take charge 
of on account of the jealousy of, and opposition to, the 
Society as a military Order with rules of primogeniture ? 

Had it formally terminated its organization — supposing 
such action practicable — there would certainly exist some 
report or record of its formal dissolution. The presumption 
is that its members succumbed for the time being to the in- 
evitable, from the fact of their scattered residences and diffi- 
culty of meeting, as well as to the public hostility alluded 
to. That the former reasons were not slight at any time is 
seen from the recorded fact by the Secretary that the Presi- 
dent of the Society resided " near two hundred miles from a 
sea-port town or post-office, so that letters for him had better 
be sent here.*" 

There is doubtless much of both interest and value re- 
garding the Society lying hidden in the archives of the 
other State Societies, and which it is hoped some diUgent 
seeker may yet enable to see the light of day in the early 
future. 

In the Washington correspondence in the State Depart- 
ment at Washington, and before alluded to, many valuable 
records regarding the North Carolina regiments exist, and 
it is possible some additional light might be gained from 
this source of events just subsequent to the Revolution, f 

* Letter of Rev. Adam Boyd, Secretary of the North Carolina Society, to 
General Knox, Secretary-General, dated Wilmington, December 29, 1783. 
See pages 90, 91. 

f List of officers of the First North Carolina Continental battalion from its 
first establishment, 1775-78; list of officers taken into the First battalion to 



SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. I05 

A distinguished authority * has reported that all the rolls 
and records of the North Carolina regiments in the Revo- 
lution were hopelessly lost. Yet here we find some very 
valuable lists in the possession still of the National Govern- 
ment; copies of the rolls of officers of ten other of the 
State line regiments are in possession of the Missouri So- 
ciety of Sons of the Revolution,! and it is quite possible 
still others may yet with diligent research be discovered. 

It was stated in January, 1894, that "there were then 
living in the State Hneal descendants of the original sixty- 
one members and of other Continental officers who are en- 
titled to membership, and it is the patriotic duty of these 
men to assert their hereditary claims." % 

And in such case, why should not the North Carolina 
Cincinnati Society claim its legitimate heritage of restored 
membership in the General body, and with those other 
State Societies already there, revive and restore the prestige 
of the patriotic men of the Revolution in the " old North 
State" ? The descendants of those who fought and suffered 
in field or camp, during that eventful era in the history of 
our country, from Stony Point and Germantown to Eutaw 

complete it, 1777-78; list of officers of the Second North Carolina battalion 
since 1777 ; list of officers of the late war, who continued to the end thereof, 
or were deranged by act of Congress ; list of officers of Continental brigade of 
Brigadier-General Jethro Sumner, 1782, etc. See "Washington Correspond- 
ence," Book 115, pp. 142^-143. 

* Hon. Walter Clark, Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. 

f See also Appendix A, Schenck's "North Carolina, 1780-81," Raleigh, 
North Carolina, 1889. 

J " The North Carolina Society of the Cincinnati," by E. G. Daves, North 
Carolina University Magazine, January, 1894. 



I06 SKETCH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY. 

and Augusta, should be and certainly are worthy of their 
descent. It needs but a determined energy, with a firm 
faith in their cause, as had their ancestors before them, and 
an earnest endeavor of compliance with the requirements of 
the General Society,* which should not be difficult of attain- 
ment on their part, to meet with that honorable recognition 
which is their just due. 

That such success may speedily be the reward of these 
efforts, is the earnest hope of the writer of these pages. 

*See Proceedings of General Society of Cincinnati, Boston, Massachu- 
setts, 1872, and Charleston, South Carolina, 1881, in case of application for 
readmission by Rhode Island State Society. 




READING BLOUNT. 



i756-'8-i8o7. 



"c 



JSJc-j, 



^ 



